The National Association of Manufacturers is elevating lobbyist Jay Timmons to be the trade group’s new top executive. He will replace outgoing President and CEO John Engler, a former Republican governor of Michigan, who announced earlier Tuesday that he will take the helm at the Business Roundtable in January.

“My grandfather was a manufacturing worker and I benefitted from learning firsthand the commitment and pride manufacturers have for their products, jobs and community,” Timmons said in a statement. “I am humbled and honored to now lead an organization that advocates and fights for an environment and platform in which American manufacturers can create, innovate and employ millions of Americans.”

Timmons is the latest NAM leader with solid Republican credentials. His predecessor, who told reporters Tuesday that his partisan days were behind him, has been a regular antagonist of President Barack Obama. In the 2004 campaign cycle, Timmons was the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and was once a chief of staff to former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), who is mulling a comeback this year in the Old Dominion.