FOX, the company to be spun off in connection with 21st Century Fox Inc.'s merger with Walt Disney Co., appointed Danny O'Brien executive vice president and head of government relations and Hope Hicks executive vice president and chief communications officer.

The appointments will become effective upon close of the Disney transaction and the creation of FOX, the company said Oct. 8.

O'Brien will join FOX from General Electric, where he serves as a senior government affairs and policy executive. Hicks most recently served as White House communications director and director of strategic communications for U.S. President Donald Trump.

Lachlan Murdoch, the future chairman and CEO of FOX, recently unveiled new leadership across the company's sports, distribution, ad sales operations and corporate functions.