On the surface of it, it seemed like a good idea to get the recently retired (age 65) both Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobile (stock symbol XOM)* to be Secretary Of State (It has become common for one person to hold both positions.). It is the largest U.S. oil company with a worldwide span so he had a lot of experience of dealing with foreign leaders and had, at least met, many of them.
But what they had not taken into account was that Tillerson retired from being equivalent to a Head Of State whereas the President was maybe wealthier but was head of a "Mom and Pop" real estate company (with no Mom). In more graphic terms, it was like having a General work for a Sargent. It wasn't preordained to failure, but it is tricky. It got off on the wrong foot Early on there was trouble when Tillerson was not allowed to pick his own Deputy, a position I assume is currently being held by an Acting-Deputy Civil Servant.
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