London: The ATP has hired Chris Kermode to be its executive chairman and president.
The men's tennis tour announced Wednesday that Kermode will begin a three-year term on Jan. 1.
A former player and coach, he has been the managing director of the ATP World Tour Finals and tournament director of the Queen's Club tournament.
Kermode succeeds Brad Drewett, who died in May at age 54 after a little more than a year as the head of the ATP. He had Lou Gehrig's disease.
Kermode calls the sport's current era "unquestionably one of the most exciting periods in the history of men's professional tennis."