Former Olympic road cyclist Tracey Gaudry has been named the new chief executive of Hawthorn Football Club.

Gaudry will be the first female chief executive of an AFL club on a permanent basis.

Gaudry had a decorated career as a road cyclist and represented Australia at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, and is also a senior executive with Athletics Australia. She held the position of global, regional and national senior executive with AA.

Gaudry informed Athletics Australia staff on Monday morning.

In 2013, Rosie King was installed as acting chief executive at Geelong while Brian Cook was on extended leave. She is now at the helm of Netball Victoria.

Gaudry was chief executive of the Amy Gillett Foundation for five years, and held senior cycling positions, including the presidency of the Oceania cycling confederation and vice-president of the UCI, working on their management committee.

Speaking to the media at Waverley Park on Monday afternoon, Gaudry said she had met Hawthorn's key leaders, including 90 minutes with senior coach Alastair Clarkson "around my kitchen table" on the weekend.

She said that Clarkson would report to her, but she would not have a strong or significant role in directly managing the coach.

"Alastair and I have already spent a fair bit of time together on the weekend and as a former elite athlete I would know that athletes need to listen to the person we trust and that's head coach," she said.

"Alastair is the most passionate and committed coach that you could find ... he has built the success on the field from literally the bottom to many years of success.

"They're going through a patch right now which, frankly I am not happy about ... he has taken them there [the top] before and the club is absolutely behind him and I can't wait to be his supporter."

She said other clubs who might be thinking of poaching Clarkson should keep their hands off the four-time premiership winning coach.

They're going through a patch right now which, frankly I am not happy about ...

Hawthorn president Richard Garvey said Gaudry's appointment would help "drive innovation and change".

"Our process has been extensive and thorough and Tracey has impressed along every step of the way," Garvey said.

"She is a highly-respected figure in the national and international sporting industry and her passion, strong vision and intimate understanding of elite sports make her the perfect CEO for our football club.

"From the outset we have been clear about ensuring our new CEO was someone who could drive Hawthorn into the future.

"We are excited to have a CEO who comes from outside of the football world, someone with a different perspective who can drive innovation and change.

Gaudry said it was a perfect time to join Hawthorn.

"It is a privilege to have built a career in sport over two decades, and to have the opportunity to bring all of my knowledge and experience in national, international, sport-specific and whole-of-sport roles to Hawthorn Football Club," she said.

"Growing up in regional Victoria I was the typical kid, kicking the footy about the oval on the weekend. Australia is a sporting nation with Australian Rules Football ingrained in our DNA and it's the perfect time to join Hawthorn at such a progressive time for our national game.

"As and strong and successful club in the AFL, Hawthorn is not resting on its laurels as it strives to advance across all aspects of the club including the planned new home at Dingley, women's football, youth academies and its contribution to the community."

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