Stephanie Phair, chief strategy officer at the luxury e-tailer Farfetch, has been named chairman of the British Fashion Council, replacing the Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet, who stepped down in December 2017 after five years in the role.

The announcement on Thursday capped a five-month search for a council leader, whose key responsibilities are as the public face of British fashion’s governing body, boosting the global profile of the British industry and assisting in the organization of major local events like London Fashion Week, London Fashion Week Men’s and The Fashion Awards.

Several high-profile names had been touted for the position, most notably Anna Wintour,the British-born editor of American Vogue. (There had been talk that the job would be a graceful exit for the editor, but Condé Nast, where Ms. Wintour also serves as artistic director, denied any change was planned.)

But it was Ms. Phair, a digital fashion veteran who joined Farfetch in November 2016, who was appointed to an initial three-year term commitment. She will continue in her full-time role at Farfetch in addition to her council responsibilities.

“I am honored and delighted to take on the role of chairman,” Ms. Phair said. “The British Fashion Council is in a strong position following the incredible work of Dame Natalie Massenet, Caroline Rush and the team, and my role will be to build on this and help drive continued innovation and new thinking in this fast paced, changing industry.”

Ms. Phair began her 13-year e-commerce career at Portero Luxury, the first pre-owned luxury marketplace. She then joined Net-a-Porter as president of the Outnet, which she introduced in 2009; she also sat on the board of the Net-a-Porter Group from 2009 to 2015, before moving to Farfetch. Ms. Massenet, her former boss at Net-a-Porter, joined the board of FarFetch last February, 18 months after she walked away from the company she created. She is likely to have had a firm hand in guiding the BFC toward a suitable successor.

The fact that Ms. Phair’s reputation and experience stem largely from the digital world and C-suite would also indicate that the BFC is looking to continue on the course set by Ms. Massenet — specifically, helping designers leverage the digital world to boost their international exposure and business growth, and cementing London as a fashion capital with events like the annual Fashion Awards.

Ms. Phair is also a member of the advisory board of Felix Capital, a venture capital company based in London, and sits on the board of the Italian luxury brand Moncler.

A statement from Ms. Rush, the fashion council’s chief executive, said: “On behalf of the Board of the British Fashion Council, I welcome the appointment of Stephanie Phair as our incoming Chair and we all look forward to working with her on strengthening the opportunities for British fashion talent and businesses over the next few years.

“Her appointment was driven by her reputation as a strategic thinker, a broad view of the sector, and her propensity to challenge the norms to create new opportunities for growth.”

The appointment will be formalized at the July 5 board meeting, the statement said, but Ms. Phair may start in the role as early as next month.