Rex Tillerson to give commencement speech for VMI

Secretary Rex W. Tillerson to speak at Class of 2018 graduation exercises

Rex Tillerson (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

LEXINGTON, Va. – United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will speak at Virginia Military Institute's graduation exercises for the Class of 2018, to be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 16, in Cameron Hall.

Tillerson concluded a career of more than 40 years in the petroleum industry just before being sworn in as Secretary of State in Feb. 2017, retiring as chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil at the end of 2016.

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Tillerson spent the entirety of his career with ExxonMobil, beginning his work in 1975 shortly after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. He rose through the company's ranks to become chairman and chief executive officer in 2006.

In addition to his dedication to ExxonMobil, Tillerson has been involved with the Boy Scouts of America. He earned its highest rank of Eagle Scout as a young man and as an adult, received the distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is a former member of the Boy Scouts of America's executive committee and served as the national president of the Boy Scouts from 2010 to 2012.

Tillerson is a former member of the American Petroleum Institute and the National Petroleum Council and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2013. He was also a member of the Business Roundtable and the Business Council, as well as an honorary trustee of the Business Council for International Understanding and a member of the Emergency Committee for American Trade. He is a former director of the United Negro College Fund and a former vice chairman of the Ford's Theatre Society.