DUAL Olympic road cyclist Tracey Gaudry has made history as the first ongoing female chief executive at an AFL club.

Hawthorn announced Gaudry, 47, as its new CEO on Monday morning after a lengthy process to replace Stuart Fox.

Fox left the Hawks in December to fill the same role with the Melbourne Cricket Club.

Gaudry, who grew up in regional Victoria, is currently Athletics Australia's general manager of commercial and growth, and was the Amy Gillett Foundation chief executive for five years.

The married mother-of-three represented Australia at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics in road cycling and was ranked third in the world at her peak.

Gaudry was instrumental in the creation of the revolutionary Nitro Athletics series, which brought Usain Bolt to Australia this year.

"It is a privilege to have built a career in sport over two decades," Gaudry said.

"And to have the opportunity to bring all of my knowledge and experience in national, international, sport-specific and whole-of-sport roles to the Hawthorn Football Club.

"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."

Gaudry listed the club's move from Waverley Park to Dingley, women's football, youth academies and the Hawks' "contribution to the community" as her priorities.

Rosie King filled in for Brian Cook as Geelong's chief executive on multiple occasions after joining the Cats in 2010 and is now in that role at Netball Victoria.

Hawthorn president Richard Garvey said he was delighted to appoint Gaudry after an "extensive and thorough" process.

"Tracey has impressed along every step of the way (and) is a highly-respected figure in the national and international sporting industry," Garvey said.

"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 will begin her new role at Hawthorn on May 29 after completing her notice period at Athletics Australia.