Rex Wayne
Tillerson (born
March 23, 1952) is an American Engineer - businessman and is the chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil
Corporation, the fifth largest company by market capitalization.[2][3]
On
December 13, 2016, president-elect Donald Trump announced that Tillerson would be his
nominee for Secretary of State.[4] If confirmed by the
Republican-controlled Senate, he would succeed Secretary of State John Kerry.
Tillerson
was born on March 23, 1952, in Wichita Falls, Texas, the son of Patty Sue (née
Patton) and Bobby Joe Tillerson.[5][6] Active in the Boy Scouts of America
for most of his life, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout[7] in 1965.
In 1970,
he graduated from Huntsville High
School in Huntsville,
Texas. He received a bachelor's degree in civil
engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975.[8] During his time at UT Austin, he was
involved with the Tejas Club,[9] the Longhorn Band,[9]and Alpha Phi Omega.[10] In 2006, he was named a Distinguished
Engineering Graduate.[8]
Exxon
Tillerson joined The
Exxon Company in 1975 as a production engineer.[11] In 1989, Tillerson became
general manager of the central production division of Exxon USA. In 1995, he
became president of Exxon Yemen Inc. and Esso
Exploration and Production Khorat Inc.[11]
In 1998, he became a
vice president of Exxon Ventures (CIS) and president of Exxon Neftegas Limited
with responsibility for Exxon's holdings in Russia and the Caspian Sea. In 1999, with the merger of Exxon
and Mobil, he was named executive vice president of ExxonMobil Development
Company. In 2004, he became president and director of ExxonMobil. On January 1,
2006, Tillerson was elected chairman and chief executive
officer (CEO), following the retirement of Lee Raymond.[11]
Tillerson
re-established his position of chairman and chief executive officer during a
shareholder meeting on May 28, 2008. The Rockefeller family sponsored
a non-binding resolution to separate the CEO and chairman positions to maintain
a system of checks and balances. The Rockefeller family also wanted Exxon Mobil
to invest more in alternative energy "“Exxon
Mobil needs to reconnect with the forward-looking and entrepreneurial vision of
my great-grandfather,” said Neva Rockefeller Goodwin. However, the resolution
did not obtain the necessary majority and Tillerson held on to both the
chairman and chief executive officer job titles.[12]
Role in Exxon's acquisition of XTO Energy
In 2009, Exxon Mobil
acquired XTO Energy, a major
natural gas producer, for $31 billion in stock. Some writers have stated that
"Tillerson's legacy rides on the XTO Deal."[13]
Ties with Russia
Tillerson with Prime
Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin,
at the Kremlin, 2012
Tillerson has ties
with Vladimir Putin; the two men have been associates since Tillerson
represented Exxon’s interests in Russia during Boris Yeltsin's premiership.[14] John Hamre, the president and CEO of the Center
for Strategic and International Studies (for which Tillerson is
a board member), states that Tillerson "has had more interactive time with
Vladimir Putin than probably any other American with the exception of Henry Kissinger."[14]
Tillerson is a friend
of Igor Sechin,[15] the leader of the Kremlin's siloviki faction,[16] who is "widely believed
to be Russia's second-most powerful person" after President Putin.[17]
In 2011, on behalf of
ExxonMobil, Tillerson signed an agreement with Russia for drilling in the
Arctic that could be valued up to $300 billion.[18] Although the company began
drilling in the Kara Sea in summer
2014, sanctions against Russia during the
Ukrainian crisis brought the project to a halt in September of that year.[19][20]
In 2013, Tillerson was
awarded the Order of Friendship by
Putin.[11]
Ties with Kurdistan
In 2011, Tillerson, on
behalf of ExxonMobil, signed a deal to develop oil fields in the autonomous
region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
The agreement was in defiance of Iraqi law, which forbids companies from
dealing directly with Iraqi Kurdistan.[21]
Compensation
In 2012, Tillerson's
compensation package was $40.5 million.[22] It was $28.1 million in 2013,
$33.1 million in 2014, and $27.2 million in 2015.[1]
Other affiliations
Tillerson is also a
trustee for the Center
for Strategic and International Studies and the American
Petroleum Institute, and is a member of the Business Roundtable.[11]
He was a member of the
executive committee of The Business Council for
2011 and 2012.[23]
Tillerson is a
longtime volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America,
and from 2010 to 2012 was the BSA's national president, its highest
non-executive position.[5] After he stepped down as BSA
president, he remained on the organization's National Executive Board. There he played a
significant role in the board's 2013 decision
to rescind the long-standing ban on homosexual youth. According
to Center for Strategic and International Studies president John Hamre, Tillerson was instrumental in the
change and "a key leader in helping the group come to a consensus."[5][24]
Political views
Opposition to sanctions
Tillerson has stated
that "We do not support sanctions, generally, because we don't find them
to be effective unless they are very well implemented comprehensively and
that's a very hard thing to do."[25]
Climate change and carbon taxing
In 2010, Tillerson
said that while he acknowledged that humans were affecting the climate through
greenhouse gas emissions to some degree, it was not yet clear "to what
extent and therefore what can you do about it."[26][27]
Tillerson also stated
"The world is going to have to continue using fossil fuels, whether they
like it or not."[28]
Tillerson stated in
2009 that he favors a carbon tax as
"the most efficient means of reflecting the cost of carbon in all
economic decisions—from investments made by companies to fuel their
requirements to the product choices made by consumers."[29]
Free Trade (Global Energy)
Speaking in March 2007
at a Council on
Foreign Relations event, Tillerson said:
Should the United
States seek so-called energy independence in an elusive effort to insulate this
country from the impact of world events on the economy, or should Americans
pursue the path of international engagement, seeking ways to better compete
within the global market for energy? Like the Council's founders, I believe we
must choose the course of greater international engagement. ... The central
reality is this: The global free market for energy provides the most effective
means of achieving U.S. energy security by promoting resource development,
enabling diversification, multiplying our supply channels, encouraging
efficiency, and spurring innovation.[30]
Rex Tillerson Speaking at IHS Energy Week
Government regulation
In an interview with The Wall Street
Journal, Tillerson expressed his impatience with government
regulation, stating "there are a thousand ways you can be told 'no' in
this country."[31]
Education
In September 2013,
Tillerson wrote an op-ed piece in The
Wall Street Journal defending Common Core.[32]
Fundraising and donations
Tillerson is a
longtime contributor to Republican campaigns. According to the FEC records
available online, he has given $442,284.50 in direct contributions since 2003,
$72,200 in "joint fundraising contributions" and $5000 to a Super
PAC. FEC records do not show any contributions by Tillerson to Democrats during
this period.[33]
He has contributed to
the political campaigns of George W. Bush,[34] as well as Mitt Romney in 2012, and Mitch McConnell.[35] He did not donate to Donald
Trump's campaign.[34] He donated to Jeb Bush's campaign during the 2016
Republican primaries.[34][36]
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Tillerson serves on
the board of trustees of the Center
for Strategic and International Studies.[37]
Secretary of State consideration
Rex Tillerson was
first recommended to Trump for the Secretary of State role
by Condoleezza Rice,
during her meeting with Trump in late November.[38] Rice's recommendation of
Tillerson to Trump was backed up by Robert Gates, three days later.[39] Media speculation that he was
being considered for the position began on December 5, 2016.[40]
On December 9,
transition officials reported that Tillerson was the top candidate for the
position surpassing Mitt Romney and David Petraeus.[41] His nomination was reportedly
being advocated by Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner.[42]
On the evening of
December 10, the BBC cited NBC reports
that "sources close to Mr Trump [were] ... saying that Mr Tillerson is
likely to be named next week" and that former UN
ambassador John Bolton "will serve as his
deputy".[43] On December 12, The
New York Times reported that he had been chosen.[4]
Personal
life
Tillerson is married
to Renda St. Clair, and they have four children.[44][7] He resides in Irving, Texas.[7]
Tillerson is a
Christian.[45][page needed] He
and his wife donated $5,000–$10,000 to the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches in
2012.[46]
On February 20, 2014,
news outlets reported that Tillerson and his wife joined opponents of a
proposed water tower that could lead to fracking-related traffic near their
homes. Plaintiffs included former U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Dick Armey and his wife.[47][48] The Tillersons dropped out of
the lawsuit after a judge dismissed their claim in November 2014.[49]
