The appointment comes after the commercial broadcaster last month announced it was closing ITV Imagine, its innovation division, as part of a wider cost-cutting exercise to shed around 1,000 jobs.
In the new role, Cortizo-Burgess will be responsible for working to identify and implement the "vision, mission, purpose and values for the ITV Global Content division".
He will work with each key business and genre within the division on assessing the strength of their competitive position within the global marketplace.
His responsibilities will also include working on individual brand strategies and identities for each genre department under the re-branded ITV Studios umbrella.
Cortizo-Burgess said: "The opportunity to ensure a positive future for ITV Global Content is huge and it will require dynamic thinking and action."
Prior to working at ITV, Cortizo-Burgess was executive vice-president, director of account planning for Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) New York.
He will report to Lee Bartlett, managing director of ITV Global Content, who said: "The Global Content division must lead the way in ITV's content-led turnaround strategy and Pele's insight and creativity will be a crucial factor in our success."
