" Of all the CEOs in America, it was Tillerson who had the best contacts with senior Russians. Sechin was at Tillerson’s elbow when the American got his Kremlin medal. Putin, Sechin, and Tillerson celebrated with champagne. Was it this—rather than Tillerson’s passion for diplomacy—that led Trump to name him unexpectedly as secretary of state? "

― Luke Harding , Collusion: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win