I agree. I never understood how someone running a global oil company was qualification for US Secretary of State.
I worked for two oil service corporations; one huge one medium.
One had a former Sec. Def. on the board, the other a Deputy Sec. Def. on the board.
Our top people were constantly in the air, visiting foreign countries. The energy/resources industries usually/often involve top government officials.
So I draw the opposite conclusion from my experience, namely that the CEO of Exxon (often the largest company in the world) is well qualified for the duties of Sec. of State.
The sort of objection you made, seems typical of "the establishment," IOW career government employee types, with vested interests in the status quo, minimum risk to their circumstances.
A good book from 15-20 years ago is "Who Moved My Chees?"