NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has named Nashville businessman Bob Rolfe as the new commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

Rolfe succeeds Randy Boyd, who stepped down at the start of the month and is widely expected to launch a bid to succeed the term-limited governor next year.

Rolfe is the chairman and CEO of Medical Reimbursements of America, a company serving 500 hospitals and health systems across the country. He previously co-founded the private equity partnership West End Holdings and worked as an investment banker at J.C. Bradford and Co.

Rolfe earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Alabama and his master business administration degree at Vanderbilt University. He currently serves on the advisory board of Vanderbilt's Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital.