Reports: Trump Expected To Name Exxon Mobil CEO Tillerson As Secretary Of State

(RTTNews) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state in the new administration, according to media reports on Saturday.

While Trump is said to have not yet formally offered Tillerson the job, he is likely to do so next week. The nomination could be controversial due to Tillerson's close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Tillerson, aged 64, has spent his entire career at Exxon Mobil, the world's fifth largest company by market capitalization. He will touch Exxon's mandatory retirement age of 65 in March.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson joined Exxon Company, U.S.A. in 1975 as a production engineer. In 1989, he became general manager of Exxon Company U.S.A.'s central production division.

In January 1998, Tillerson became vice president of Exxon Ventures (CIS) Inc. and president of Exxon Neftegas Limited. In those roles, he was responsible for Exxon's holdings in Russia and the Caspian Sea as well as the Sakhalin I consortium operations offshore Sakhalin Island, Russia.

In 2013, he was awarded the Order of Friendship by Putin.

He assumed his current position as Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil on January 1, 2006, following the retirement of Lee Raymond.