The post has been vacant since the departure of Zach Leonard in September to join The Cloud as chief operating officer.
Rzesnitzek will transfer in February from Germany, where he is currently managing director of FT Deutschland, which is owned by the Financial Times and Gruner+Jahr.
He will oversee all the FT's commercial operations in print and online in the region and report to FT CEO Olivier Fleurot.
Fleurot said: "Michael is a proven publisher, with strong strategic and operational skills and an excellent knowledge of the European market."
Rzesnitzek established FT Deutschland in 1999, before which he was at Gruner+Jahr from 1990, where he headed new-business development for newspapers and the international department for newspapers. He is fluent in English, German and French and has attended business schools in all three countries.
He is succeeded at FT Deutschland by new joint managing directors Christoph Ruth and Dr Christoph Weger.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
.jpg)
.jpg)