Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

NEW YORK (CBSMiami/AP) — In Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump has found an accomplished American executive, a supporter of free trade, international law and an expansive U.S. presence in the Middle East.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobile Corp. straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. He came up in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, holding posts in the company's central United States, Yemen and Russian operations.

Under Tillerson's leadership, oil prices broke records and strong profits helped make Exxon the most valuable public company in the world.

It has a security force totaling thousands of employees, direct channels with governments worldwide and a strong aversion to American sanctions or limitations on where it could operate.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)