Canon Jonathan Draper, who is currently Canon Theologian at York Minster, will succeed Jonathan Meyrick, in the position.
Canon Draper said he hoped to make the cathedral more accessible to people in the city.
He also said he supported the Occupy Exeter protest movement and wanted to be involved in its debates and discussions.
Canon Draper was born in Boston in the US and studied at Durham University.
He was ordained in 1983 and served in Manchester, Putney and York. He also worked as a lecturer in theology at the University of Oxford.
Canon Draper said he was "very excited about coming to Exeter - to a beautiful cathedral, a vibrant city, and a county with many riches to explore".
"I am also really pleased to be coming to a city with a Premiership rugby team and a county with such fantastic countryside to walk in."
Canon Draper said he supported the Occupy Exeter protest movement which set up a tent community on Cathedral Green in mid-November.
"I think they're taking the right approach, there's no need for confrontation or getting heavy handed.
"The issues they raise are really important to us as a society and I think we need to take them seriously.
"We also need to help them to find ways to move on and to make the protest and the debate they've generated a bit more fruitful.
"It is my hope that the cathedral will continue to be able to offer spiritual sustenance and be a place where the great issues of our time can be thoughtfully and creatively addressed."
Canon Draper is expected to be in position by Easter.
The 70th dean of Exeter cathedral in Devon has been appointed.