Dame Carolyn McCall will take the helm at ITV on Monday with the broadcaster locked in a commercial dispute with its biggest shareholder and playing catch-up in television's internet revolution.
The former easyJet boss will take over day-to-day operational responsibilities from chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette and chief financial officer Ian Griffiths, who have been acting as caretakers, at a crucial time.
Last year ITV issued an £80m bill to Virgin Media for its main channel, along with a blackout threat.
The cable operator, owned by ITV's biggest shareholder Liberty Global, has so far refused to pay up, and either pulling the plug or negotiating a deal will be among Dame Carolyn's first major challenges.
It is understood that a deadline has been pushed back to spring to allow her to get to grips with the issue.
Credibility is at stake. ITV has long campaigned for pay-TV operators to pay to carry its main channel, and promoted prospects of a financial boost to City investors.
The so-called retransmission fees row is part of ITV's battle to reduce its dependence on the volatile advertising market.
Under previous chief executive Adam Crozier it also spent billions snapping up production companies to make programmes for ITV's own channels and rivals at home and abroad.
Dame Carolyn inherits a company that now depends on advertising for little more than half its £3.1bn revenue, although some of its production businesses are yet to prove their worth as profit generators.
Some investors and industry figures suspect ITV may be forced to write down the value of some acquisitions under its new leadership, particularly in the United States.
The advertising market should be relatively benign for Dame Carolyn at least in her first year in the job.
In summer, ITV will benefit from large World Cup football audiences, and across the board television advertising spending is forecast by the Advertising Association to expand by 2.8pc in 2018, reversing a 2.4pc decline last year.
Within the growth, spending on advertising to run alongside on-demand programming is expected to accelerate, a field in which ITV has previously lagged industry developments.
However, in spring it plans to launch its first addressable advertising services, allowing brands to target viewers based on their location and profiles of their interests.
The move will bring ITV more up to speed with Sky, Channel 4 and others, as television advertising comes under increasing pressure from Google and Facebook.
Dame Carolyn's arrival at ITV represents a return to the front lines of media prior to easyJet she served as chief executive of Guardian Media Group.
Following the appointment of Alex Mahon, the new chief executive of Channel 4, it means that for the first time two major UK broadcasters will be run by women.
© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2018.