Andy Marinos has been appointed chief executive of SANZAR, the governing body of southern hemisphere rugby.
The 43-year-old South African replaces New Zealander Greg Peters, who is now with the Argentina Rugby Union.
Marinos, who previously served as SANZAR chief between 2008-10, will rejoin the organisation on January 1 from the South African Rugby Union where he was running commercial and marketing operations.
The former Wales international will oversee the introduction of the new Super Rugby format, which includes new teams from Japan and Argentina.
"We are about to embark upon an exciting new expansion [in Super Rugby] that will see us deliver the game to more countries, fans and commercial markets than ever before," Marinos said.
"The impressive performance of our four national teams at the recent Rugby World Cup was pleasing but the challenge for us is to not only ensure they remain at the top, but that we keep working to raise the bar even further both in terms of high performance and commercial success."
SANZAR is a joint venture between the rugby unions of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.