Sebastian Coe is to replace Barbara Cassani as chairman of the London 2012 Olympic bid team, it was announced today.
The dramatic reshuffle was announced at a press conference just a day after London was named as one of five cities that will vie for the honour of hosting the 2012 Games.
American-born Cassani, former chief executive of budget airline Go, will take over Coe's previous role as vice-chairman of the board. Coe, a double Olympic gold medallist, will become the public face of London's campaign while Ms Cassani will concentrate on developing the technical aspects of the bid.
It was also confirmed that the board's chief executive, Keith Mills, will take on an additional new role as president (international) to boost the campaign's presence overseas.
London was selected for the International Olympic committee's (IOC) shortlist yesterday after a "unanimous" vote in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Rio de Janeiro was the shock loser, missing the final cut along with Havana, Leipzig and Istanbul.
The London bid team now has until next July to convince the IOC that it should host the 2012 Games ahead of its shortlisted rivals, Paris, New York, Madrid and Moscow.
Ms Cassani told the press conference that she had made the decision to step down as chairman after a number of months of reflection.
"I asked myself whether I was the best person to be chairman and I concluded that (Coe) was the perfect person to lead us into success next year."
She said she had never competed at an international level or at the Olympics, and did not have the number of contacts that Coe has.
"I must say that it is a decision that I have come to after much reflection. I love what I am doing, I enjoy it immensely, but what is more important than enjoying what I do is also winning."
She said she felt that it was now the right time to "regroup, get the team back on the pitch and start going for gold".
She added: "As I have been able to attend conferences and meet people and understand more about the challenges of international sport, I realised that it is a world where if you have been part of it you have a special advantage and if you have never been part of it there is just so much to learn."