Port Adelaide has appointed the league’s youngest board member – a 26-year-old West Australian Holly Ransom.

Ms Ransom is one of the nation’s brightest young leaders, having chaired the G20 Youth Summit in 2014, being named among Australia’s ‘100 Most Influential Women’ and the planet’s youngest ever Rotary President.

With a focus on engaging young people and an impressive resume that includes running her own consultancy firm – Emergent – Ransom will fill a vacant position on Port Adelaide’s board.

Her appointment has been made following extensive vetting by existing club leadership and with endorsements from the highest levels of the AFL and Australian business.

Port Adelaide’s chief executive Keith Thomas says despite being a West Coast supporter, Ransom ticks off the most important requirement for any member of the club – she’s a challenger.

“Holly is a highly creative person and a challenger of the status quo - Port Adelaide is very much the same,” Thomas says.

“She will bring a strong female perspective and expertise in connecting with younger people.

“Australian football faces a great challenge in remaining relevant and accessible to young Australia, in particular young parents in their twenties – it is a real focus for us at Port Adelaide as evidenced by our emphasis on game day entertainment.

“Holly has an ambitious energy about her, that we really like [and] she’s also a footy tragic, albeit a West Coast supporter.

“That proves, of course, that it’s about what you bring to the table, we have no doubt Holly will help us on our drive to continually improve Port Adelaide.”

Holly Ransom’s first board meeting will be on Friday before Port Adelaide takes on crosstown rival the Adelaide Crows at 1.15pm.