Suzanne Maloney is the deputy director of the Foreign Policy program at the famous Brookings Institution in Washington, where she focuses on Iran and energy policy in the Persian Gulf region. She’s written numerous books and worked as an adviser to both the State Department and ExxonMobil.
At ExxonMobil, Maloney was a colleague of Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil CEO and Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of State. Having experience at the State Department and ExxonMobil, Maloney’s perspective on Tillerson’s qualifications are worth considering. Maloney certainly felt compelled to get her ideas about Tillerson out there, issuing a veritable tweet storm about his qualifications as the news broke of Tillerson’s impending nomination. See below:
Full disclosure: I spent a couple of years working at XOM (but not directly for Tillerson.) I’m proud of that experience; I learned a lot.
— Suzanne Maloney (@MaloneySuzanne) December 10, 2016
Inside-the-Beltway types don’t have monopoly on wisdom about international affairs: my XOM colleagues had sharp grasp of regional dynamics
— Suzanne Maloney (@MaloneySuzanne) December 10, 2016
Oil folks know stuff: anyone who manages multi-billion dollar, multi-decade projects needs deep, nuanced understanding of political context
— Suzanne Maloney (@MaloneySuzanne) December 10, 2016
A lot of the negative/shocked reactions to Rex Tillerson as SecState seem to come from people w/limited understanding of private sector 1/x
— Suzanne Maloney (@MaloneySuzanne) December 10, 2016
Tillerson rose to top of a company that prizes technical excellence, rock-solid financials, hard work & integrity. State cld do a lot worse
— Suzanne Maloney (@MaloneySuzanne) December 10, 2016
In run-up to Iraq invasion, I heard far more skeptical questions & realistic scenarios from energy execs than from most DC pundits, R or D
— Suzanne Maloney (@MaloneySuzanne) December 10, 2016
.@McFaul Corporations have obligations to shareholders. Policymakers have obligations to citizens. Many wise leaders have moved btw spheres.
— Suzanne Maloney (@MaloneySuzanne) December 10, 2016
In this sense Tillerson’s business experience gives him very different lens than other execs in Trump cabinet–& very relevant for diplomacy
— Suzanne Maloney (@MaloneySuzanne) December 10, 2016
Presumption that Tillerson must be a pro-Putin ideologue bc he / XOM did business successfully in Putin’s Russia is simplistic & patronizing
— Suzanne Maloney (@MaloneySuzanne) December 10, 2016
