St Kilda great Lenny Hayes has been appointed as the AFL club's new general manager of football, charged with a key role in helping the Saints chase success.
Hayes, who was most recently an assistant coach under Ross Lyon, will now work closely with the senior coach in a different role.
He is the permanent replacement for David Misson, who departed in October.
Hayes played 297 games for St Kilda between 1999 and 2014, including captaining the club in 2004 and 2007, and was one of the Saints' stars under Lyon in the coach's first stint at the helm.
"Lenny's career is so closely woven into the story of St Kilda, and we are thrilled to see him begin this new chapter with us," chief executive Carl Dilena said.
"Anyone who has had the privilege of working with Lenny understands his natural ability to build strong, trusting relationships. "His calm and measured approach, combined with his competitiveness and leadership, extends far beyond his achievements on the field and is a perfect fit for this role."
A three-time best and fairest winner and three-time All-Australian, Hayes won the Norm Smith Medal in the drawn 2010 grand final against Collingwood.
The star midfielder and Australian Football Hall of Fame member moved into coaching with GWS, where he was an assistant between 2016 and 2020.
Hayes returned to St Kilda in 2022 to work under Lyon as an assistant and development coach.
The club has high expectations off the back of re-signing Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and a recruiting drive where they landed Tom De Koning, Jack Silvagni, Liam Ryan and Sam Flanders.
"Having spent more than half my life working inside football programs, I am really excited to step into this role," Hayes said. "I am looking forward to working closely with Carl and Ross and doing everything I can to help maintain a high-performance environment. "Football programs are only as strong as the people within them, so my focus will be on ensuring our staff, and in turn our players, are in the best position to succeed on and off the field."
