Neil Snowball, the Warwickshire chief executive, will become the ECB's new Managing Director of County Cricket.

The 53-year-old Snowball, who joined Warwickshire at the beginning of 2016, is expected to remain at the club during their search for his successor and take up his new role later in the year, with former MCC chief executive Derek Brewer standing in at the ECB in the interim. Snowball replaces Gordon Hollins, who announced in October that he would be leaving the job this month.

"It is a huge honour to be entrusted with such an important role within the game and I look forward to continuing to work closely with the many talented and dedicated people across the cricket network," Snowball said. "I've been fortunate to have worked with so many incredible people at Warwickshire and will always look forward to returning to Edgbaston in my new role."

Before joining Warwickshire, Snowball held positions with England Rugby for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and investment bank Goldman Sachs.

ECB chief executive officer Tom Harrison described Snowball as "the outstanding choice" for the role, which will involve growing and developing domestic cricket in England and Wales and managing relationships between the ECB and the domestic and recreational game.

"This is an exciting time for cricket with £500 million set to be invested into the network over the next five years as we look to support and nurture the core, grow the game and make sure that cricket remains relevant for generations to come," Harrison said.

Warwickshire chairman Mark McCafferty said: "We were very disappointed to receive Neil's resignation. However, we appreciate that it's an excellent opportunity for him as he pursues the next phase of his career."