Mark Thompson has been named the new president and CEO of The New York Times Company. Thompson is the outgoing director general of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a position he has held since 2004. Aside from a two year stint as CEO of Britain’s Channel 4, Thompson has been with the BBC since he came aboard as a production trainee in 1979.

In a statement, Arthur Sulzberger, chairman of the Times Company, said Thompson is “a gifted and experienced executive with strong credentials whose leadership at the BBC helped it to extend its trusted brand identity into new digital products and services.”

So ends the search for someone to replace Janet Robinson, who departed the Times in December of last year. Now comes the hard part for Thompson and the Times: Dealing with declining ad dollars in a world that continues to shift toward digital media.

From FishbowlNY to Thompson — good luck. You’re probably going to need some.