Kim Williams, a former CEO of News Corp Australia and of Foxtel, will be the new chair of the ABC.
He replaces Ita Buttrose who ends a five year term in March.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement.
"Kim is a true renaissance man," said Albanese.
"The breadth of his experience is matched by its depth and his intellect, his energy, and his insatiable curiosity of all men that he's been able to devote himself to a great diversity of passions."
Williams says ABC chair is probably the "hardest job in media" in Australia.
"This is certainly a role which is not without burden. They're burdens that are wholly constructive and necessary in terms of our nation. The ABC is such an important institution," he told ABC Radio Sydney.
"I have an uncompromising view that the ABC is the Australian campfire and I'm very firmly wedded to the notion that it needs to reflect on what the charter means in terms of having contemporary relevance."
The appointment puts two former CEOs of News Corp Australia on the board of directors.
Peter Tonagh, the current deputy chair of the ABC, worked for News Corp entities for nearly fourteen years. He was CEO of Foxtel, REA Group and News Corp Australia.
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