EghtesadOnline: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pledged this month to promote more people of color into leadership roles in his agency. His track record during 11 years at the helm of Exxon Mobil Corp. suggests he means it.

EghtesadOnline: Fresh off Big Oil’s best quarter in years, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. may be poised for a repeat.

EghtesadOnline: Rex Tillerson is rewriting the rules for what it means to be secretary of state. His ideas for conducting diplomacy track closely with beliefs shaped during his 40-year career at Exxon Mobil Corp., where negotiations happened behind closed doors, leaks could cost millions of dollars in shareholder value, and the press was seen as a nuisance. Case in point: Tillerson’s staff handpicked just one reporter, from the Independent Journal Review, a conservative website, to join him on his plane during his recent trip to Asia.

EghtesadOnline: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp, used an alias email address while at the oil company to send and receive information related to climate change and other matters, according to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

EghtesadOnline: After meeting Donald Trump for the first time, in New York on Dec. 6, Rex Tillerson told his wife, Renda, that the president-elect had offered him the job of secretary of state. Tillerson had spent his entire 41-year career at Exxon Mobil Corp., the previous decade as chief executive officer.

EghtesadOnline: Rex Tillerson’s disclosure that he stands to receive a $180 million cash payout from Exxon Mobil Corp. if he becomes the next U.S. secretary of state offers a preview of the thorny ethical questions that may be raised this week over a presidential cabinet stacked with wealthy tycoons.

EghtesadOnline: Exxon Mobil Corp and Rex Tillerson agreed to sever all ties to comply with conflict-of-interest requirements as the company's former chairman and chief executive awaits confirmation as U.S. secretary of state.

EghtesadOnline: When Rex Tillerson visits Capitol Hill next month for his confirmation hearings, senators will weigh two competing questions: Are his close ties to Russia disqualifying? Or do his years as the globe-trotting, deal-making chief executive for Exxon Mobil Corp. merit making him the top U.S. diplomat?

EghtesadOnline: The central question facing Exxon Mobil Corp. chief executive Rex Tillerson if he becomes U.S. secretary of state is whether a life-long oil man with close ties to Russia can pivot from advancing corporate interests to serving the national interest.

EghtesadOnline: Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and other oil majors could see their credit ratings slashed again if they fail to cut costs and reduce their growing debt loads in the next year, according to an S&P Global Ratings report.

EghtesadOnline: One of Rex Tillerson's first directives as U.S. secretary of state was an order to senior staff that his briefing materials not exceed two pages.

EghtesadOnline: Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson emerged on Friday as President-elect Donald Trump's leading candidate for U.S. secretary of state, a senior transition official said.

EghtesadOnline: Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc this week reported their lowest quarterly profits since 1999 and 2005, respectively. Chevron Corp.’s third straight loss marked the longest slump in 27 years, and BP Plc lodged its lowest refining margins in six years.