The 51-year-old Briton, who left UK Athletics after more than a decade in charge, was chief executive of last year's IAAF World Championships in London. 

The event was notable for the record number of 660,000 tickets sold for events at the Olympic Stadium, beating he previous record of 417,156 tickets sold for the 2009 Championships in Berlin. 

"We are pleased to welcome Niels de Vos as the executive director of Oregon21," Board chair Paul Weinhold said in a statement.

"Niels has an impressive career serving as an executive of multiple sporting events at the international level, including the most recent IAAF World Championships [in London].

"He understands how to effectively collaborate with Government and private entities, leverage local knowledge and expertise and has a demonstrated record of accountability that we expect for the management of this event."

Vin Lananna, who as chairman had been the chief organiser of the Championships, had been temporarily placed on administrative leave as President of USA Track & Field while the United States Department of Justice investigated bids by Eugene and other cities and countries for major events.

Lananna has always claimed he has done nothing wrong but stepped down from his role with Oregon21 in July.

De Vos became chief executive of UK Athletics in 2007, leading the body through a home Olympic and Paralympics at London in 2012, the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London and this year's IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, which took place in March.

Before joining UK Athletics, he had been the commercial and marketing director of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and chief executive of English Premiership rugby club Sale Sharks 

In his new role, de Vos will be responsible for the organisational management of the 2021 IAAF World Championships, including the development of all strategic plans, associated budgets, national and international partnerships, sponsorships and broadcast negotiations and other operational functions associated with the event.

He replaces Kathy Hermann, who had been executive director on an interim basis only following the resignation of Lananna.

De Vos called the 2021 IAAF World Championships a "tremendous opportunity" for the state of Oregon.

"This event will help build its global brand as a visitor destination, the people and businesses of Oregon will benefit from the economic activity and USA Track and Field will have a home championship for the first time ever to showcase their status as the world’s premier track and field nation," he said.

"I am delighted to have been asked to lead the team delivering Oregon21 and I look forward to bringing the best of London 2017 expertise and blending it with the planning and delivery skills of the team in Oregon to ensure that Oregon21 is a huge success."