WASHINGTON – The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s President and CEO Liz Schrayer released the following statement on the nomination of Rex Tillerson to serve as the next Secretary of State:

The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition looks forward to working with Rex Tillerson, if confirmed, to strengthen America’s commitment to development and diplomacy around the world.

The next Secretary of State will have no shortage of competing priorities on day one – from tackling the global refugee crisis to advancing America’s economic and security interests throughout the world. To address these challenges, American civilian tools will be needed now more than ever in the years ahead.

At ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson has shown strong leadership on public-private partnerships in global development, an essential part of the past 15 years of U.S. foreign assistance reform. Calling global health and poverty ‘obstacles that must be overcome to achieve future progress,’ both he and the company’s foundation demonstrated a significant commitment to these issues through efforts to eradicate malaria and empower women in the developing world. This understanding of how government can catalyze global development investments from businesses and NGOs to tackle global challenges will be critical for delivering results for the American people.

The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (www.usglc.org) is a broad-based influential network of 500 businesses and NGOs; national security and foreign policy experts; and business, faith-based, academic, military, and community leaders in all 50 states who support strategic investments to elevate development and diplomacy alongside defense in order to build a better, safer world.