ST KILDA has appointed David Misson as the club's permanent executive general manager of football after the experienced high performance boss took over the role on an acting basis in February.  

Misson returned to the Saints last November as performance, medical and operations manager after more than a decade away from the club, reuniting with Ross Lyon for a second stint at Moorabbin. 

When veteran football administrator Geoff Walsh departed suddenly in late January due to family reasons, Misson stepped up as head of football on an interim basis, then for the season and now permanently, effective immediately. 

The football department inside RSEA Park has undergone widespread change in the past 12 months with a new-look coaching panel compromising iconic club figures like Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes and Brendon Goddard. 

Stephen Silvagni also replaced James Gallagher as list manager in January, Graeme Allan moved from an advisory role to head of talent acquisition, Alex Sakadjian replaced Nick Walsh as head of high performance this year, David Rath departed for Rugby Australia and now Essendon, while Simon Lethlean swapped ends of the building after replacing Matt Finnis as CEO. 

Misson has 25 years of experience working with high performance programs inside elite sporting organisations dating back to his role as high performance boss at Cricket Australia at the turn of the century, before joining the Sydney Swans in the early 2000s. 

Lyon brought him to St Kilda in 2008 after the pair crossed paths at Sydney with Misson running the high performance department at the club for four seasons during the club's Grand Final era. 

Misson moved to the Melbourne Football Club following Lyon's bombshell exit to Fremantle and spent eight seasons as the Demons' elite performance manager before moving to Canada after his wife was poached for a school principal position in Toronto. 

After returning to Australia due to the coronavirus pandemic, Misson landed a role at NRL powerhouse Sydney Roosters before Lyon convinced him to not only return to the AFL, but to St Kilda. 

While his background is in high performance, Misson has been building towards becoming a GM for years on the back of leadership development and operations management.