Rex W. Tillerson, the chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil company (it’s worth about $375 billion).  The company is confident it “can weather the slowdown and uncertainty better than its rivals” (NYT).

Exxon’s view is that while oil is getting a bad rap, and their brand name in particular was singled out by President-elect Obama “as an exemplar of corporate greed,” their product is almost certainly the most in-demand commodity on Earth.

While other oil companies try to paint themselves greener, Exxon’s executives believe their venerable model has been battle-tested. The company’s mantra is unwavering: brutal honesty about the need for oil and gas to power economies for decades to come.

In other words, as Kert Davies, the research director at Greenpeace, put it: “Being Exxon is never having to say you’re sorry.”