New York ? Moving quickly after federal regulators approved an overhaul plan, the New York Stock Exchange named Goldman Sachs investment firm president John Thain as its new chief executive.

The announcement Thursday came only a day after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the NYSE’s proposal to overhaul its governing structure, including splitting its top executive positions to avoid a concentration of power.

Thain, 48, will succeed interim chairman and CEO John Reed, who has served in those positions since the September ouster of Dick Grasso amid a furor over the size of his $188 million pay package.

“I think we have an exceptional person at a time when, frankly, we require an exceptional person,” Reed said at a news conference where Thain was introduced.

Reed said Thain was known for “integrity, intelligence, and extensive knowledge of the financial markets.”

But the selection could disappoint those who were hoping the new leader would come from outside Wall Street. Goldman Sachs is one of Wall Street’s most prominent investment firms.

On Wednesday, SEC commissioners approved an overhaul plan for the exchange that would split its top executive position, create a smaller and more independent board of directors and appoint a chief regulatory officer.

Reed, who is being paid a symbolic $1 to overhaul the exchange, will resign as interim CEO but stay on as interim chairman while the search continues for a permanent chairman. Reed said he hoped to name a chair by year’s end.

Thain, whose appointment is effective Jan. 15, will be paid $4 million, Reed said.

Outrage over Grasso’s pay package forced his ouster on Sept. 17 and gave momentum to efforts to reform the exchange, including streamlining its bloated 27-member board.

At the news conference, Thain said his goal as chief executive would be to ensure the exchange remains “the most liquid and most efficient marketplace, and that may involve a greater degree of electronic trading.”

Thain has been president of Goldman Sachs Group since May 1999 and had been seen as a possible successor to Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson.