ExxonMobil names country head Jean-Marc Taton as new Asia-Pacific chair and managing director

[SINGAPORE] ExxonMobil on May 1 welcomed Jean-Marc Taton, a veteran at the US oil major, as the new chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil Asia-Pacific.

Taton succeeds Geraldine Chin, who stepped down from the helm on the same date, following a leadership tenure of more than five years and 35 plus years at the energy giant.

“Jean-Marc has been with ExxonMobil for over 30 years and held manufacturing and commercial roles in Europe, North America, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region,” said the company in a LinkedIn post.

Chin, in a LinkedIn post, described her time as chairman and managing director as “one of the most fulfilling and tumultuous years” in her career.

Looking back on her leadership tenure, Chin wrote: “I was appointed during the Covid-19 pandemic (when) we underwent corporate reorganisations and now, the Middle East conflict.”

“After more than 35 years with ExxonMobil, it is time for me to turn the page and start my next chapter… I am glad to handover the baton to Jean-Marc Taton who has, in the past eight years, helmed our affiliates in China and Saudi Arabia,” she wrote.

Taton said in a LinkedIn post that the appointment marks his second Singapore posting.

The leadership transition occurred on the same day that Exxon Mobil posted its first quarter adjusted earnings that beat estimates at US$1.16 per share, above the consensus estimate of US$1 compiled by LSEG.

However, its unadjusted profit hit a five-year low, due to Iran-war related disrupted shipments and paper losses from hedging activity.

The news follows ExxonMobil’s announcement in October 2025 of the sale of its network of Esso-branded petro kiosks in Singapore – comprising almost 60 stations – to Indonesia’s Chandra Asri Pacific.