MUMBAI: The Motion Pictures Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) has named former US Senator Christopher J. Dodd as its new chairman and chief executive officer.

Dodd, who completed five terms in the United States Senate last January, will assume his new role on 17 March.

"Chris has served our country as a highly respected and accomplished Senator for over 30 years, and we are truly fortunate that he will bring his stature and talent to support the creative efforts of our filmmakers and the many people who work in our industry, here and around the world," commented Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos.

"We‘re also grateful to Bob Pisano, who has done an excellent job of leading the MPA during this transition period," Gianopulos added.

Dodd, a Democrat, represented Connecticut in the US Senate from 1981 to 2011, where he was chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and the author of the historic Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He also served as acting-chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee during the 2009 consideration of the Health Care Reform Act. He also was a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.