Embattled PG&E Corp. has hired industry veteran Andrew Vesey to lead its natural gas and electric utility, appointing him as president and CEO to fill a position that has been vacant for a year.

PG&E said on Monday it has received various proposals from several financial institutions, including Abrams Capital Management and Knighthead Capital Management, offering capital commitments in support of its reorganization plan. The commitments, PG&E said, currently exceed $12 billion and are under review as it works to emerge from bankruptcy.

Vesey, who previously helmed Australian power giant AGL Energy Ltd., would oversee safety, generation, electric and power operations at Pacific Gas & Electric Co. when he takes over Aug. 19. He’ll answer to parent company CEO Bill Johnson, who was appointed in April.

Johnson said Vesey has “demonstrated experience” to help the company improve “our safety and operational performance.” The leadership role at the utility has been vacant for about a year after Nickolas Stavropoulos retired last September.

Vesey has more than 35 years of experience, according to PG&E, including executive roles with AES Corp., Entergy Corp. and Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. A native of New York, he started his career as a system planning engineer at Consolidated Edison Inc. He resigned from AGL last year.

Vesey’s appointment comes as PG&E works through bankruptcy proceedings initiated in January. Facing financial pressure, former PG&E CEO Geisha Williams stepped down ahead of the bankruptcy filing, which led to Johnson’s appointment.