"The Chairman of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Local Organising Committee, James Strong, has announced that John Harnden has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Local Organising Committee for the event," the ICC said in a statement.
The 2015 Cricket World Cup will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Harnden is currently chief executive of the South Australian Cricket Association.
Harnden has an honours degree in Engineering from the University of Adelaide and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School`s Advanced Management Program.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007 and has served as a director on a number of boards, including the 2010 UCI World Road Cycling Championships. He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.
Strong said Harnden had built a reputation over many years for delivering large scale international events and projects on time, on budget and to world`s best standard.
"Coupled with his current role in cricket administration, this made John the perfect candidate for the job of chief executive," Strong said.
Harnden said he was looking forward to starting work on the tournament.
"Cricket is a passion for me from a personal and a professional perspective. I am delighted to be a part of the 2015 Cricket World Cup and look forward to working with James Strong and the rest of the Board as well as everyone at New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Australia. We will make this a real partnership across the Tasman."