Paul Vaughan (pictured) has been appointed chief executive officer of England Rugby 2015 - the tournament organising company - after 10 years as the RFU's business operations director.

He starts work on January 4.

The appointment was welcomed by Martyn Thomas, chairman of both England Rugby 2015 and the RFU board.

"We cast the net wide and saw some impressive and highly experienced candidates but in the end we all agreed that Paul had a unique combination of experience in the rugby market, commercial expertise and leadership skills," he said.

"Making the Rugby World Cup a success will require a positive and collaborative relationship with the IRB and with the RFU and it goes without saying Paul has those relationships already in place.

"He has been closely involved in our planning so far, so we are already well on our way to delivering an outstanding World Cup.

"We are very excited by the appointment and I believe Paul will be pivotal in the delivery of an outstanding Rugby World Cup."

While at the RFU Vaughan grew commercial revenues from £43 million to £119 million and played a major role in creating the partnerships with Compass Group, Marriott Hotels and Virgin Health that underpin the new South Stand development.


He also had board responsibility for the ticketing strategy that has regularly sold out Twickenham Stadium.

He said: "It is a tremendous honour to be offered the opportunity to manage the delivery of RWC 2015 in England and one I accept with great relish.

"The RFU are the custodians of the tournament before handing it on to Japan in 2019 and I want to deliver a fantastic event for the game and a long term positive legacy for the RFU."

Bernard Lapasset, chairman of Rugby World Cup Limited, said: "We welcome this key appointment, which represents an important first step in the delivery of Rugby World Cup 2015.

"Paul certainly possesses all the necessary attributes as he is vastly experienced, has an excellent knowledge of the global game, has a strong working relationship with the IRB and knows how to build successful marketing and ticketing strategies."