President Barack Obama on Tuesday said that he will nominate John Bryson, the former chairman and chief executive of Edison International and a prominent environmental advocate, to be his next commerce secretary.

Bryson “understands what it takes for America to succeed in a 21st century global economy,” said Obama in a statement on the White House web site. “John will be an important part of my economic team, working with the business community, fostering growth, and helping open up new markets abroad to promote jobs and opportunities here at home.”

Bryson, 67, retired from Rosemead-based Edison, the parent company of Southern California Edison and Edison Mission Group, in 2008 after 18 years with the company. As chief executive he guided the company through the energy crisis of 2000-2001.

He now is a senior adviser to the private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and sits on the advisory board of Deutsche Bank Americas. He also is a director at Boeing Co, Walt Disney Co., and electric car developer Coda Automotive Inc.

He is a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental-advocacy group, and has been a member of the U.N. Secretary-General’s Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change. He also served on former-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Climate Adaptation Advisory Panel. Locally, Bryson is a trustee of the California Institute of Technology and a director of the California Endowment and the W. M. Keck Foundation.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bryson would replace Gary Locke, who is set to become ambassador to China.