Jeffrey Ubben

Jeffrey Ubben
Born	Jeffrey W. Ubben
Nationality	American
Occupation	Investor, fund manager
Known for	Founder of ValueAct Capital, founder of Inclusive Capital Partners

Jeffrey W. Ubben is an American investor and fund manager who founded two prominent investment firms: ValueAct Capital, a San Francisco-based activist hedge fund, and Inclusive Capital Partners, an investment firm focused on long-term environmental and social sustainability. Over the course of a career spanning several decades, Ubben established himself as one of the most prominent activist investors in the United States, known for taking significant stakes in public companies and seeking board representation to influence corporate strategy. His career trajectory — from building ValueAct Capital into a multibillion-dollar fund to launching Inclusive Capital Partners with a mandate that integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations — has made him a notable figure at the intersection of finance and corporate governance. Ubben has served on the boards of several major corporations, including Exxon Mobil Corporation and The AES Corporation, and his investment decisions and board activities have attracted significant attention from financial media and market participants alike.

Career

ValueAct Capital

Jeffrey Ubben founded ValueAct Capital, a San Francisco-based activist investment firm that became one of the most prominent hedge funds in the United States. Under Ubben's leadership, ValueAct Capital practiced a form of activist investing that involved acquiring significant equity positions in publicly traded companies and then working constructively with management and boards to effect strategic and operational changes designed to increase shareholder value. The firm became known for its concentrated portfolio approach, typically holding stakes in a relatively small number of companies at any given time, and for seeking board seats as a means of influencing corporate direction from the inside.

ValueAct Capital grew to manage billions of dollars in assets and was involved in a number of high-profile activist campaigns across diverse industries. The firm's approach was generally characterized as collaborative rather than confrontational, distinguishing it from some other activist investors who employed more aggressive public tactics. Ubben's tenure at ValueAct Capital established his reputation as a prominent figure in the activist investing landscape.

Ubben eventually stepped back from day-to-day management of ValueAct Capital to pursue a new venture that reflected his evolving investment philosophy, particularly around the integration of environmental and social considerations into the investment process.

Inclusive Capital Partners

Jeffrey Ubben founded Inclusive Capital Partners, an investment firm that sought to apply the activist investing framework he had developed at ValueAct Capital to companies with significant environmental and social impact. The firm's stated approach involves taking meaningful stakes in companies and engaging with management and boards to encourage transitions toward more sustainable business practices. The founding of Inclusive Capital Partners represented a notable shift in Ubben's public investment focus, from traditional shareholder value maximization toward a model that incorporated long-term sustainability considerations alongside financial returns.

Inclusive Capital Partners attracted attention from the financial press and investment community as part of a broader trend of ESG-focused investing. Ubben's decision to launch the firm was seen by market observers as significant given his established track record in conventional activist investing.

Board service

ExxonMobil

On March 1, 2021, Exxon Mobil Corporation announced that Jeffrey Ubben and Michael Angelakis had joined its board of directors. In its announcement, ExxonMobil stated that the additions reflected the company's ongoing effort to add directors with a range of relevant expertise and perspectives. Ubben's appointment came at a time when ExxonMobil was facing increasing pressure from shareholders and environmental groups regarding its climate strategy and energy transition plans. His background in ESG-focused investing through Inclusive Capital Partners was noted in coverage of his appointment.

Ubben served on the ExxonMobil board for several years. On February 18, 2026, ExxonMobil announced that Ubben would not seek re-election at the company's annual shareholder meeting, effectively stepping down from the board in May 2026. His departure from the board was reported by multiple financial news outlets, including StreetInsider, TipRanks, and Investing.com.

Ubben's tenure on the ExxonMobil board spanned approximately five years, from March 2021 to his anticipated departure in May 2026. During this period, ExxonMobil faced significant scrutiny over its energy transition strategy and climate commitments, and the presence of an investor with an ESG-focused background on its board was a subject of ongoing discussion among shareholders and analysts.

The AES Corporation

Jeffrey Ubben also served on the board of directors of The AES Corporation, an energy company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. On March 1, 2021, AES announced that Ubben had resigned from its board of directors. The timing of his resignation from the AES board coincided with his appointment to the ExxonMobil board, which was announced the same day. This simultaneous move — departing one energy company's board while joining another — attracted attention, as both companies operated in the energy sector but had differing profiles with respect to fossil fuel dependence and clean energy portfolios.

Recognition

Jeffrey Ubben's activities as an investor and corporate board member have been the subject of coverage in major financial publications and news outlets. His founding of ValueAct Capital and subsequent creation of Inclusive Capital Partners positioned him as a figure of interest in discussions about the evolution of activist investing and the growing role of ESG considerations in institutional investment.

His appointment to and service on the ExxonMobil board of directors was covered by outlets including Exxon Mobil Corporation's own press releases, TipRanks, StreetInsider, and Investing.com, among others. His name has appeared alongside other prominent hedge fund managers and investors such as Ken Griffin, Chris Hohn, Bill Ackman, and Scott Bessent in financial industry coverage and news roundups.

Legacy

Jeffrey Ubben's career arc — from founding a traditional activist hedge fund to establishing an investment firm centered on sustainability and stakeholder capitalism — reflects broader shifts in the investment industry during the early 21st century. His transition from ValueAct Capital to Inclusive Capital Partners coincided with and contributed to a growing conversation within the financial sector about whether and how institutional investors could or should incorporate environmental and social factors into their investment processes and corporate engagement activities.

His simultaneous resignation from the AES board and appointment to the ExxonMobil board in March 2021 highlighted the interconnections between activist investing, energy policy, and corporate governance at a time when the energy industry was undergoing significant scrutiny regarding climate change and the global energy transition. His five-year tenure on the ExxonMobil board, ending in 2026, covered a period of substantial debate about the oil and gas industry's role in addressing climate change.

Ubben's career has been cited in broader discussions about the role of activist shareholders in shaping corporate strategy, the relationship between financial performance and sustainability, and the potential for institutional investors to serve as agents of change within large public companies.