The 47-year old Knudson, currently the external affairs manager for Tesoro Alaska, will take over from John Katz when he retires at the end of the year. Knudson also worked as a legislative aide, director of marketing for Era Aviation, and deputy commissioner of aviation for the state Department of Transportation
The 68-year old Katz earlier this year announced that he was leaving after nearly 30-years as the director of state and federal relations.