WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has selected a former Tennessee secretary for trade and commerce as U.S. ambassador to Japan.

William Francis Hagerty IV is the co-founder of a private equity firm based in suburban Chicago, Hagerty Peterson and Co.

He began his career with the Boston Consulting Group in 1984 and spent three years in Japan managing the firm's business with Western clients throughout Japan and Asia.

In its announcement of Trump's selection, the White House says Hagerty served as chief executive and the board of directors of companies with "extensive operations in Asia and Europe."

The White House says Tennessee led the nation in foreign direct investment, 60 percent of which came from Japan, during his tenure as trade secretary.