The PJM Board of Managers on Wednesday selected international finance executive Mark Takahashi as its new chair, replacing outgoing Chair Ake Almgren.

“Mark Takahashi brings a wealth of markets experience and has a keen grasp of the changing energy landscape,” PJM CEO Manu Asthana said. “I look forward to working closely with him as PJM moves into the future.”

Takahashi previously served as CFO of Ascendant Group Ltd., the parent company of Bermuda Electric Light Co. He was also the group director and CFO of CLP Holdings, a vertically integrated electric utility company in Hong Kong, from 2008 to 2014, having worked at the company since 2003.

Takahashi earned a bachelor’s in civil engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

In his tenure on the PJM board, Takahashi served as the chair of the Competitive Markets Committee and a member of the Risk and Audit Committee and the Finance Committee.

Takahashi addressed members of PJM’s Public Interest and Environmental Organizations User Group during their meeting on Wednesday, hinting that he was in line to take over as chair of the board.

“The world is in a massive energy transition, and I’m looking forward to working with the board, PJM staff, and members and stakeholders as we seek to meet the challenges of that transition,” Takahashi said in a statement.

At Monday’s annual Meeting of Members, PJM stakeholders elected Paula Conboy and Jeanine Johnson to the board and re-elected Sarah Rogers to serve an additional term. Johnson will take Almgren’s seat, while Conboy replaces retiring board member John McNeely Foster. (See PJM Stakeholders Elect New Board Members.)