Karen Alderman Harbert has been named president and CEO of the American Gas Association effective April 1, succeeding Dave McCurdy, who plans to retire at the end of February. Harbert is currently president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute. Harbert previously served as the assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, as vice chairman of the board of the International Energy Agency and as deputy assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Harbert is a member of the National Petroleum Council.

David Hochschild, 47, has been named chair of the California Energy Commission. The former solar industry executive has been a member of the five-person commission since 2013. Janea Scott, 45, who has served on the commission since 2013, was named vice chair. An attorney, Scott formerly worked for the Environmental Defense Fund and the U.S. Department of Interior.