Succession at The Times has been a fraught process in previous years, with some family members perceiving that sons in the Sulzberger line had an advantage. The most recent selection process included the formation of a seven-member committee intended to give each candidate equal consideration.

The Ochs-Sulzberger family, through several trusts, controls about 91 percent of the stock that elects 70 percent of the company’s board members.

A fifth-generation descendant of Mr. Ochs, the younger Mr. Sulzberger is soft-spoken and measured. Where his father is quick with quips, some of which miss the mark — he once joked to President George W. Bush that he thought it was fascinating they both worked in their fathers’ old offices (Mr. Bush, he said, did not respond) — the younger Mr. Sulzberger is more restrained. While acknowledging that he does not seek the spotlight, A.G. Sulzberger says that he has strong views and is willing to push the company.

“I wasn’t someone who grew up aspiring to become publisher of The New York Times,” Mr. Sulzberger said in an interview in his office this week. “But having spent the last eight years of my life here and understanding how important the work being done here every day is, I can’t imagine a more fulfilling or rewarding way to spend my days.”

Born in Washington, Mr. Sulzberger grew up in Manhattan and attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, an elite private school known for its progressive ethos. His mother, Gail Gregg, is a painter and writer who has worked as a journalist. She and his father divorced in 2009 after more than 30 years of marriage. (The elder Mr. Sulzberger remarried in 2014.)

After graduating from Brown University in 2003 with a degree in political science, Mr. Sulzberger worked as a reporter at The Providence Journal and The Oregonian. He joined The Times in 2009 as a reporter on the metropolitan desk. Later, as the head of the Kansas City bureau, he covered the Midwest, including the devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo., in 2011.

In his office, he keeps a framed metal plate of the front page that featured his first article as Kansas City bureau chief, about a 103-year-old federal judge. Those who have worked with Mr. Sulzberger have noted his whimsical descriptions of his quests for sustenance as a vegetarian in the Midwest.