New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has shaken up its leadership structure, with the appointment of interim director Daniel Weiss as its new president and CEO.

Weiss, who was appointed president of The Met in March 2015, had been serving as director since Thomas Campbell’s resignation in February.

Now as the institution’s new chief executive, Weiss will lead and run the museum, filling the higher-ranking role, with the Met’s next director to report to Weiss, rather than the other way around.

At a special meeting, the Met’s Board of Trustees concluded that Weiss’s at the museum, as well as his background as a distinguished scholar with a doctorate in art history made him the ideal candidate to lead the museum going forward.

"Our museum's collections and professional staff set the world standard for exhibitions, scholarship, preservation, education, and public programming, and as thoughtful advocates for the importance of art in our culture,” said Weiss. “I am equally humbled and excited to continue working closely with the Board and the museum's unparalleled staff."

The Met recently delayed US$600m (€563.4m, £492.4m) plans to redevelop its southwest wing by as long as seven years as bosses aim to get the institution’s finances in order.

The museum will begin the search for the next director immediately, with a search committee including Weiss to find a suitable candidate to fill the role.