Steve Rosich has been tasked with revitalising the A-Leagues after being appointed the Australian Professional League's (APL) chief executive.
The former boss of AFL club Fremantle will start his role on January 5, with staff informed of the appointment on Wednesday.
The APL has been led by executive chairman Stephen Conroy after commissioner Nick Garcia's shock mid-season exit in February.
Garcia had in 2023 replaced then-chief executive Danny Townsend, who departed to take up a role in the Middle East.
Former Labor senator Conroy will return to his non-executive role as chair, with Rosich to move from Melbourne to Sydney next year.
Rosich joins the APL after leaving the Victoria Racing Club last year following a four-year stint as chief executive.
He was previously chief executive of the Dockers, leading the club from 2008 and overseeing the shock poaching of coach Ross Lyon from St Kilda in 2011.
Rosich was sacked by Fremantle, on the same day as Lyon in 2019, and has spent this year as a managing director at medical technology start-up BrainEye.
His most pressing challenge will be strengthening the national men's and women's leagues amid financial strife, with embattled club Western United hoping to return to competition.
United, who had issues paying players for months, were wound up by the ATO in August after being stripped of their A-Leagues licence.
Facing liquidation, United's ownership West Melbourne Group was granted a new deadline to pay its $15.5 million tax bill after an interlocutory hearing in the Federal Court last week.
"Football in Australia and New Zealand has huge potential," Rosich said in a statement.
"The foundations for the game are strong with the sport and the A-Leagues poised to capitalise on a huge 12-month calendar for the world game.
"I know it will take hard work and a collective effort from the broader football ecosystem to help realise this opportunity, but it's an incredibly exciting time for football in the region."
Having unbundled from Football Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic, the A-Leagues had been working to stabilise financially under Garcia's watch.
A year ago, the APL had to make massive staff cuts in a restructure, which included closing down its digital arm.
Distributions to clubs from the broadcast deal were also heavily slashed ahead of this season.
Players have also expressed concern with the APL, with more than half of players (52 per cent) questioned in a Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) survey said they were dissatisfied with how the competition was being run.
The survey was part of the players' union's annual report on the 2024-25 season.
A mental health audit conducted in conjunction with FIFPRO also found 67 per cent of A-League Women players had experienced sport-related psychological distress, with calls for full-time professionalism ahead of the next collective bargaining agreement in 2026-27.
Conroy said he was confident Rosich had a "proven track record of growth".
"We've been through a significant period of change, and Steve's appointment marks an exciting new era for the APL," Conroy said in a statement.
"Steve brings extensive leadership, commercial and major events experience within elite sport, and a passion to grow the A-Leagues to help it reach its full potential.
"Having right-sized the business, and moved from a significant financial loss to a profit in FY25, we have a strong platform for sustained growth.
"Steve's appointment is the final step of our transformation."
