FitzGerald has been chief executive and chairman at consumer goods giant Unilever since 1996 and has worked for Unilever for 37 years. He has been a non-executive director of Reuters since January 2003.
He has been at the head of Unilever's Path to Growth strategy to slim down its portfolio of products and focus on key brands.
The strategy appears to be paying off with the company recently announcing that its leading brands had grown by 2.5% over the past year.
FitzGerald has been the shareholders' favourite for the Reuters chair since Sir Christopher announced his retirement in April 2003.
FitzGerald's previous roles include non-executive director of Merck, Ericsson, Bank of Ireland and the Prudential Corporation. He is also currently chairman of the Conference Board, president of the Advertising Association, co-chair of Transatlantic Business Dialogue and a member of the foundation board of the World Economic Forum.
Sir Christopher claimed that he was delighted that the board had chosen FitzGerald to succeed him. "I warmly welcome Niall to the chair of what is both a fine company and a great global brand. I am totally confident that Reuters' strategy is matched by its ability to implement its plans."
Hogg will retire at the end of September this year, with FitzGerald taking the helm from October 1.
FitzGerald is to be replaced at Unilever, which he leaves in September, by Frenchman Patrick Cescau, currently foods director at Unilever. Cescau is a relative newcomer compared with FitzGerald, having joined Unilever in 1973.
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