The New York Times Co. has roped- in outgoing BBC head Mark Thompson as its next President and chief executive, saying his experience in digital media on a global scale made him the ‘ideal candidate’.
Thompson, the outgoing director-general of the BBC, will join the company in November. In addition to his executive roles, he will also sit on the board.
Thompson's appointment was announced by Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the chairman of the Times Company and the newspaper's publisher on Tuesday.
55-year-old Thompson will join the company at a time when it faced challenges posed by changing reader habits and a shifting advertising market. Last month, it reported a net loss of USD 88 million for the second quarter of 2012.
"Mark is a gifted executive with strong credentials whose leadership at the BBC helped it to extend its trusted brand identity into new digital products and services," Sulzberger said in a statement.
"Our board concluded that Mark's experience and his accomplishments at the BBC made him the ideal candidate to lead the Times Company at this moment in time when we are highly focused on growing our business through digital and global expansion," he said.
The Times has been without a chief executive since Janet Robinson left in December 2011. Since then, Sulzberger has said the company was looking for a candidate with experience in the digital world and across multiple platforms, The New York Times reported.
"The New York Times is one of the world's greatest news providers and a media brand of immense future potential both in the US and around the world. It is a real privilege to be asked to join the Times Company as it embarks on the next chapter in its history," Thompson said.
"I'm particularly excited to be coming to The New York Times Company as it extends its influence digitally and globally.
Thompson started his career as a production trainee at the BBC in 1979 before leaving in 2002 to become chief executive of Channel 4 television.
At the beginning of July the BBC announced that George Entwistle would replace Thompson as director general on September 17.