Mark Wood was a foreign correspondent in Germany and Russia

Currently the television company's chairman, Mr Wood, 51, will take over from Stewart Purvis, who is retiring.

Mr Wood, the former editor-in-chief at Reuters, said he was looking forward to the challenge of the new role.

"ITN is a great company brimming with talent and ambition." he said.

"Our news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Five are in top form."

Mr Wood, from north London, became a director of ITN in 1993, then non-executive chairman in 1998 before being appointed full-time chairman in 2002.

Foreign correspondent

Mike Stewart, a board member at ITN, said: "ITN has made enormous progress over the past year and is in excellent shape.

"The board has great confidence Mark can now provide the leadership to take ITN forward as a successful and profitable media business."

Mr Wood's replacement is expected to be announced soon.

The married father-of-two started his journalism career with Reuters as a trainee in 1976.

He worked as a foreign correspondent in Vienna, East Berlin, and Moscow between 1977 and 1985 before becoming chief correspondent for Reuters in Germany in 1985.

He was appointed Reuters European editor in 1987 and was editor-in-chief from 1989 to 2000.