Dominic Herrington has been confirmed as national schools commissioner after holding the post on an interim basis for the past eight months.
The former Whitehall civil servant replaces Sir David Carter, who stepped down last year.
Mr Herrington has been the regional schools commissioner for South London and South East England for the past four years.
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The announcement of his appointment today follows a Tes exclusive that the Department for Education is planning changes to the system that oversees academies. The reforms could lead to career civil servants overseeing thousands of schools, rather than former school leaders.
The system of regional school commissioners was introduced to help the department oversee the major expansion of the academies programme.
Mr Herrington said: “Over the last eight months, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with academy trusts.
“I am very much looking forward to continuing to work with the team of Regional School Commissioners - helping them to support and challenge school leaders to deliver the best possible education for children right across England.”
Academies Minister Lord Agnew said: “Having worked with Dominic extensively over several years at the Department for Education, I am delighted by his appointment. He brings great energy and deep expertise to this important role.”
The DfE said it was now in the process of confirming a permanent replacement for Mr Herrington as the RSC for for the South East England and South London Region.
Earlier this month, Tes revealed that there are proposals that could see the offices of the eight RSCs beefed up and given a greater role in areas such as teacher recruitment.
The DfE said the reforms, which have yet to be publicly announced, amounted to “operational changes” rather than changes to policy.
The department said today’s announcement will help schools and academy trusts across the county to “build on the successes to date.”
More than 8,300 schools in the country have become an academy or opened as a free school since 2010.
