Joost chief technology officer Dirk-Willem van Gulik has been appointed chief technical architect at BBC Future Media and Technology.

van Gulik will lead the effort to design and construct the new back-end infrastructure supporting BBC interactive services across all platforms.

"The BBC recognises that IP connectivity is quickly moving beyond the personal computer," said Erik Huggers, controller of the BBC's future media and technology group. "This appointment signals our commitment to providing licence-fee payers access to BBC content however they want it. Dirk-Willem has made significant contributions to the development of the Internet. His knowledge and expertise will be of great advantage to the BBC and the industry. It is a pleasure to welcome him to our division and I look forward to working with him."

In addition to his work at Joost, van Gulik has been a board member of the Apache Software Foundation since its inception and is an active member of the open source community.

He said: "I am excited to join the world’s largest broadcasting corporation and hope to play a significant role in influencing how consumers find, play and share our world-class content."