De Vos is expected to be named at a press conference in London as the successor to David Moorcroft, who steps down at the end of this month after nine years in the job.

The appointment may raise eyebrows in the sport following soon after the appointment of Ed Warner to the new post of chairman, as both he and De Vos come from business rather than athletics backgrounds.

Dave Collins, the performance director appointed in March 2005, also had a limited knowledge of the sport before moving to work in it full-time.

De Vos does have an impressive pedigree in sport however - not only are Sale the reigning Zurich Premiership champions but he also was the commercial director of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and made a name for himself negotiating some lucrative sponsorship deals.

Financially, the Games were more successful than Euro 96, bettering the £30 million mark.

Moorcroft confirmed his retirement last September after a period of highs and lows in the role and will leave UKA in four days' time.

The former world 5,000 metres record holder felt that with London staging the Olympics in 2012, the right move would be to leave and allow a successor to get established well ahead of the showpiece.

Moorcroft's move has been perceived as a positive step, which will allow the new incumbent to learn from three World Championships in Osaka later this year and also, more importantly, next year's Beijing Olympics before 2012.

Warner, who has been asked to use his experience as a City businessman to drive the sport forward, has played a major role in the selection of the new chief executive.