Story highlights Gates acknowledged that Exxon is a client of his consulting firm

Gates and Rice were both quite critical of Trump during the election

Washington (CNN) President-elect Donald Trump leaned on a collection of Republican foreign policy veterans for guidance in selecting ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his nominee for secretary of state, according to sources familiar with the process.

Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates, Stephen Hadley and James Baker, all of whom have business dealings with the oil giant, played a crucial role in convincing Trump's team to select Tillerson to become America's top diplomat.

A source familiar with discussions over the nomination said that Vice President-elect Mike Pence reached out to Rice and Stephen Hadley, who served as George W. Bush's national security adviser, a few weeks ago asking for good candidates for secretary of state and other positions.

Rice, Hadley and Gates "could see they were struggling with who the secretary of state ought to be," the source told CNN.

After discussing possible candidates, a consensus emerged that Trump needed someone with a "different profile," the source said, adding that, "going to the establishment didn't feel right for this particular president."

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