The state agency that's charged with promoting Hawai'i's venture capital industry has hired a former investment banker as its new president.

Karl Fooks, a past managing director for J.P. Morgan & Co. in Asia, is the new president of the Hawai'i Strategic Development Corp.

Fooks, whose appointment took effect Wednesday, replaces John Chock who retired last year.

The position pays about $85,000 a year.

Fooks, 50, said he spent much of his childhood in Hawai'i and moved back permanently in 2002 to raise his two sons. He lived in Japan between 1985 and 2002.

Fooks previously headed ABN Amro Securities' Japan unit and served as head of private equity in Asia for J.P. Morgan, according to Bloomberg News. He also was head of mergers and acquisitions in Asia for J.P. Morgan.

He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California-Berkeley and a master's from Princeton University.

Established in 1991, the HSDC's mission is to promote the state's venture capital industry and assist local start-up companies.