David Peever is new Cricket Australia chairman

Melbourne: Cricket Australia (CA) has elected David Peever as the replacement for retiring chairman Wally Edwards.

CA conducted its Annual General Meeting here on Thursday in which Peever was elected, it said in a statement. The 58-year-old is the retired managing director of business firm Rio Tinto Australia.

He has been a CA director since 2012. He takes over the position following Edwards' four-year term.

Peever is a Non-Executive Director of the Melbourne Business School, and a member of the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council and the Department of Defence Gender Equality Advisory Board. He is also a Director of the Australian Foundation Investment Company Ltd.

Commenting on his appointment, the Queensland-based Peever said: "I am honoured to have been appointed to this position and I look forward to carrying on the great work that Wally has performed over the past four years."

"This is a key time for Australian cricket. A lot of significant change has occurred for the better on and off the field. But in an ever changing world, I believe we have to work harder than ever before to maintain cricket's privileged place as the Australia's traditional summer pastime."