Darren Woods

Woods' record is measured in barrels and balance sheets rather than trophies. He took over ExxonMobil in January 2017 and has held the job longer than most of his peers at the other majors, steering the company through a pandemic-driven price collapse, a shareholder revolt over climate strategy and one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the energy business. The Pioneer Natural Resources deal, agreed at roughly $60 billion in 2023 and closed in 2024, made ExxonMobil the dominant producer in the Permian Basin, the region where Woods grew up. Barron's named him among the top CEOs of 2026, and the Financial Times profiled him that year as the King of Big Oil. He also chairs the American Petroleum Institute, giving him a formal role in shaping the industry's policy positions in Washington.