Ultracapacitor maker Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL) has a new capo this morning.

The company announced today that CEO Richard D. Balanson is moving to become a part-employee and function as a senior technical advisor.

In today's announcement, Balanson gave the ol' "we're at an inflection point" statement, followed up with the venerable "it's now time for someone else to guide the company through the next phase of its growth and development."

Balanson had been at the post since 1999.

The company is trading at $14.55 this morning, down significantly from $22.21 a year ago.

Replacing him as president and CEO is David J. Schramm, who's spent the bulk of his 36-year career management and engineering positions with General Motors and its primary Tier I parts supplier, Delphi Automotive Systems its subsidiaries.

Most recently, he was president and CEO of EADS North America Defense Test and Services, a U.S. subsidiary of the corporate parent of Airbus.

Given that Maxwell is putting more strategic emphasis on selling its ultracapacitors to automotive customers, the appointment makes sense.

Shares of Maxwell have been creeping up in the time it took to write this, trading at $14.54, up about two percent over its open of $13.95.

Follow our ongoing coverage of Maxwell Technologies here.