Mark Thompson appointed as CEO of the New York Times

Mark Thompson, the outgoing director general of the BBC, has been appointed as the new president and chief executive of the New York Times.

Thompson will replace Janet Robinson, who announced her retirement last December.

In a statement, Arthur Sulzberger Jr, chairman of the Times Company and the newspaper’s publisher, said Thompson was “a gifted and experienced executive with strong credentials whose leadership at the BBC helped it to extend its trusted brand identity into new digital products and services”.

“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,” Sulzberger added.

Thompson said: “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.”