Lee R. Raymond, who served as Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil Corporation from 1993 to 2005, died June 6, 2026 from complications of pneumonia. Mr. Raymond was born in Watertown, South Dakota in 1938. He was a chemical engineer by training, completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin and his PhD at the University of Minnesota. He joined Exxon in 1963 as a production research engineer. In 1987 he became President and in 1993 Chairman and CEO. He retired from ExxonMobil in 2005, six years after completing the merger of Exxon and Mobil Oil in one of the largest – and most successful – industrial mergers in history.
Mr. Raymond served on the Board of Directors of JPMorgan Chase (or its predecessor) since 1987 and served as the lead independent director for a number of years until his retirement in 2020. Mr. Raymond also served on the Board of Trustees of Mayo Clinic. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Business Roundtable and the National Academy of Engineering. He served as the President of the American Petroleum Institute twice, and as the Chairman of the National Petroleum Council. He was a Trustee of the American Enterprise Institute.
Mr. Raymond believed in hard work and meritocracy, was relentlessly positive and demanded excellence in everything he did. He marveled at how far he had come since working on his grandfather’s farm as a youth.
He is survived by his wife Charlene, his triplet sons, three daughters-in-law and seven grandchildren.
All services are private. Mr. Raymond will be buried at Woodland Cemetery, Kohler.
Ballhorn Chapels Funeral & Cremation Care Center is assisting family with arrangements. Online condolences may be expressed at www.ballhornchapels.com
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