PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A Maine business executive will head up the new graduate center for the University of Maine charged with building relationships with outside businesses.

Theresa Sutton, formerly a vice president at Wex Inc., will begin work immediately as the founding CEO of Maine Center Ventures in Portland, which was created to foster ties tailored to benefit Maine’s workforce needs.

The Portland Press Herald reports UMaine Chancellor James Page says Sutton is an accomplished executive who is highly regarded, and understanding of the state’s economic landscape. Sutton says she would draw from her experiences at both small tech startups and larger established companies in her role at the center.

Sutton’s hire is scheduled to be officially announced Monday at the system’s board of trustees meeting in Orono.