Updated: 12:53 p.m.

President Barack Obama announced Friday that he is appointing University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee to chair his Council of Economic Advisers.

Obama called Goolsbee “a brilliant economist” and “one of my good friends and close economic advisors for many years.” He praised Goolsbee’s ability to talk about economic policies “in a way that is easily understood.”

“I have complete confidence he’ll do an outstanding job,” the president said.

Obama announced his appointment at the start of a White House press conference on the economy.

Goolsbee has already been confirmed by the Senate to serve on the panel; Obama just had to take the extra step of naming him the chairman.

Goolsbee replaces Christina Romer, who stepped down last week to return to her former job as an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

Obama praised his Romer as “a dedicated part of the team” that helped stabilize the economy when it was on the brink of the next Great Depression.