$6.6 billion retail propane distributor UGI has named Davinder Athwal as vice president of accounting and financial control, chief accounting officer, and chief risk officer. He succeeds Michael Cuzzolina, who retired in June 2008.

Athwal will report to Vice President of Finance and CFO Peter Kelly, and will assume responsibility for accounting, financial reporting, and internal controls at the company. He also will have responsibility for the continued development and implementation of the company’s enterprise risk management strategy.

Athwal has over 15 years of public company accounting and reporting experience. He most recently served as global m&a controller of Nortel Networks, a global supplier of telecommunications equipment and solutions. Prior to joining Nortel, he spent several years with IBM Corp. in both accounting and risk-management roles. His professional background includes substantial public accounting experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he was a senior manager in the firm’s National Risk and Quality Group.