IAN RITCHIE will become the new CEO of the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) after being lured away from a similar role at Wimbledon’s All England Tennis Club, the organisations said yesterday.

Ritchie, who spent six years in charge at Wimbledon, takes over from acting CEO Stephen Brown who will revert to his role as chief financial officer once Ritchie has served a yet-to-be-determined period of notice.

Brown stepped in last month following the resignation of Martyn Thomas, who was also formerly chairman of the RFU, after a period of often chaotic internal power struggles and reviews.

“Ian Ritchie was chosen as having an outstanding mix of business experience, leadership skills and the innate understanding of the sporting world,” the RFU said.

England have appointed Stuart Lancaster as caretaker coach for the Six Nations championship, which begins in February, and Ritchie’s first big task will be to oversee the appointment of a permanent coach to replace Martin Johnson, who resigned last month.