Lee Raymond, the American oil executive who led ExxonMobil as chairman and chief executive from 1987 to 2005, died on June 6, 2026.
He was 87. Born in Watertown, South Dakota, on August 13, 1938, Raymond joined Exxon in 1963 and rose through the company’s ranks over the following decades.
He became a director in 1984, president in 1987, chief executive of Exxon in 1993 and, after the Exxon and Mobil merger, headed ExxonMobil from 1999 until his retirement in 2005. A graduate of Watertown High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and later received a doctorate in the same field from the University of Minnesota.