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London - Steve Brown said he'd been given the "job of a lifetime" after being appointed as the new chief executive of England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) on Friday.
Brown has been promoted from within the Twickenham hierarchy, having spent the past six years in a variety of roles at the RFU, including chief financial officer.
He also served as managing director of England Rugby 2015, responsible for organising the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Even though host nation England suffered an embarrassing first-round exit, the tournament was widely acclaimed as the most successful Rugby World Cup ever and helped strengthen the RFU's position as the wealthiest of all the 15-a-side code's national governing bodies.
Figures published last year showed the RFU's annual revenue had increased to £407.1 million, up £199.2 million on the same period in the previous year.
The RFU said Brown, who succeeds Ian Ritchie following the latter's retirement earlier this year, had been appointed after an "extensive selection process".
RFU chairperson Andy Cosslett, commenting on Brown's appointment, said: "Over the last six years, Steve has shown us all exactly what he can deliver... I'm delighted to appoint him as CEO (chief executive officer)."
Brown, who will take up his new post on Monday, said: "This is the job of a lifetime for me. I'm thrilled to be given this opportunity to lead a sport I love, in an organisation I have been proud to work for over the last six years, and I look forward to leading the team as we work to grow the game at every level."
One of Ritchie's most significant acts at Twickenham was to oversee the exit of Stuart Lancaster as England coach after the World Cup debacle and bring in Eddie Jones as his successor.
England have won back-to-back Six Nations titles under Australian coach Jones, narrowly missing out on successive Grand Slams and an outright world record of 19 consecutive top-flight international wins.
Jones' men are now regarded as one of the major challengers to reigning champions New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
