The New York Times Company has named Mark Thompson as its next president and chief executive.
The news capped an eight-month search for an executive to lead the company as more people get their news through digital products.
Thompson, 55, will report to the New York Times board of directors and to its chairman, Arthur Sulzberger Jr, starting in November, the company said.
"Our board unanimously concluded that Mark is exactly the right person to lead The New York Times Company at this particular moment in time," Mr Sulzberger wrote in an internal email to employees.
Mr Thompson will lead the New York Times, publisher of its namesake newspaper and the Boston Globe, during unprecedented challenges facing the publishing industry as advertisers place their dollars elsewhere and readers favour smartphones and tablets over the printed page.
Mr Thompson most recently served as director general of the BBC. He announced in March that he was stepping down from that post at the end of the London Olympics after serving in the top job since 2004.
He guided the BBC with its eight TV channels, 50 radio stations and extensive website through morale problems, assaults from Rupert Murdoch's media empire and threats to the corporation's funding by the British government.
The New York Times is one of the most prominent newspapers in the world and is considered a thought leader in the news business. Last year, it rolled out a pay model for its digital products that so far has been hailed for its success in getting readers to pay for news.
The company has also weathered its share of scrutiny with its depressed stock price, canceled dividend and troubles increasing advertising revenue. It also had to deal with the departure of Thompson's predecessor, former chief executive Janet Robinson, a 28-year Times Co veteran who abruptly left the company in December.
Mr Thompson will become head of a much smaller company that once was a sprawling media conglomerate with TV and radio stations, magazines, dozens of newspapers scattered throughout the US and ownership stakes in cable networks and sports teams from the Boston Red Sox baseball team and Liverpool soccer club.
Over the years it has been shedding its assets and last week, the company said it was in discussions to sell its Internet property About.com. It will soon be down to only a handful of newspapers, including the International Herald Tribune and Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
