TMX Group Ltd. Tuesday announced the appointment of James Oosterbaan as president of its Natural Gas Exchange Inc. (NGX) subsidiary.

NGX provides electronic trading, central counterparty clearing and data services to the North American natural gas and electricity markets.

Oosterbaan will take on his new role on November 1, and will be based in Calgary.

The appointment of an executive with Oosterbaan’s experience demonstrates the strategic importance of NGX to TMX Group, the company says.

“Jim brings deep industry knowledge and a track record of success in the energy markets, including natural gas and electricity. He is both a hands-on operator and a successful leader, which is exactly what we need to serve our clients with excellence and identify growth opportunities for the future,” said Tom Kloet, CEO of TMX Group (TSX:X).

For more than a decade, Oosterbaan has held successive senior executive positions with Edmonton-based Capital Power Corp., most recently as senior vice president, operations and commodity portfolio management, where he had responsibility for the company’s generation plants and corporate natural gas, electricity and greenhouse gas offset portfolios. Prior to Capital Power, Oosterbaan held senior positions with energy and natural gas corporations with offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Houston. He is currently a director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

NGX also confirmed the previously announced retirement of Peter Krenkel, effective December 31. Krenkel has been president of NGX since its inception in 1994; he joined the TMX Group leadership team when NGX was acquired in 2004.