John Manzoni spent 24 years in senior roles at BP, but quit in 2007 to become chief executive of Canadian oil and gas company Talisman Energy.
He took up the role of chief executive at the MPA on Monday, in a salary band that stretches up to £208,000.
Manzoni said: “Some of the largest and most complex projects can be found in government, and it’s the scale of the challenge that makes this role interesting.”
The MPA was founded and led by David Pitchford as executive director until September 2013, when he returned to his home of Australia.
The authority has since been led by Norma Wood, a secondee from the private sector, where she operates as a business leadership consultant.
Stephen Kelly, government chief operating officer, said: “The MPA has already had a strong start working with departments delivering major public projects, and I have no doubt that John’s leadership and proven success will accelerate our delivery.”
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said Manzoni’s experience of delivering complex projects will be “invaluable to the civil service and to taxpayers.” He added: “This is a great example of how we can bring talented men and women with private sector experience into Whitehall.”
An internal report produced by BP into a 2005 fatal explosion at a Texas oil refinery found that Manzoni, then global refining chief, had failed to heed serious warning signals in the run up to the incident. But he was cleared of serious neglect or intentional misconduct.