FEDERAL WAY, Wash., Dec. 14 -- Weyerhaeuser Company's board of directors today approved the appointment of Shaker Chandrasekaran as senior vice president, Cellulose Fibers, effective immediately. Chandrasekaran will be a member of the company's Senior Management Team and serve on the Operating Committee. He will report to Richard E. Hanson, executive vice president and chief operating officer. Chandrasekaran succeeds Michael A. Jackson who retired to assume the role of chief executive officer of Verso Paper in Memphis, Tenn. "Shaker Chandrasekaran is a proven leader who will provide strong direction to the Cellulose Fibers business as it takes on a more critical role in Weyerhaeuser's portfolio," said Hanson. Chandrasekaran was most recently vice president, Manufacturing, Cellulose Fibers. He previously served as mill manager and vice president at Weyerhaeuser's Kingsport, Tenn., paper mill, and Kamloops, British Columbia, cellulose fibers mill. A 30-year veteran of the paper industry, Chandrasekaran started his career in India, then joined Container Corporation of America, Mead, and later Willamette Industries, which was acquired by Weyerhaeuser in 2002. He is a graduate of the University of Madras, India, and Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He has also completed the Stanford University Executive program and other executive management programs at the Wharton Business School and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.