SOUTH Australian Football Hall of Fame member Keith Thomas has been announced as the new chief executive of Port Adelaide.

Letter to Members & Supporters

Thomas, who played more than 300 games with Norwood in the SANFL as well as two seasons with Fitzroy, beat out a national field of more than 40 candidates to succeed Mark Haysman, who resigned in July, as the Power CEO. 

The former South Australian state football representative has a radio background, having worked at both DMG Radio and Austereo.

Most recently, he was involved with the Stadium Management Authority - the body established with the purpose of laying the groundwork for the Adelaide Oval redevelopment.

Port Adelaide president Brett Duncanson said Thomas' familiarity with the $535 million project was a "big positive" for him throughout the two-month interview process.

"Adelaide Oval is the biggest opportunity for our football club in the next three years and we need to get that right," Duncanson said on Friday.

"[We were also impressed by] his substantial success in the corporate world and his understanding of football.

"What came through as the process continued was his passion to actually work at this footy club and work with us."

Thomas had been linked to the role at Port Adelaide even before the position had become available, prompting speculation the SANFL or AFL had influenced the club to appoint the Redlegs stalwart as a condition attached to the $9 million financial packed provided to the club earlier this year.

Duncanson strenuously denied the accusation, saying the AFL had offered advice on selection criteria but not on suitable candidates.

"I can guarantee this was the board's decision and no one else's," he said.

"There were no conversations with Keith until after Haysie's decision to resign. I know there were stories out there prior to that, but there was no contact at all.

"We brought an independent [consultancy] group in to help with the process … and we said from the start we wouldn't be influenced by anyone other than this board."

Thomas said he wasn't intimidated by the enormous challenge of taking the helm of the cash-strapped Power, but admitted he'd had "awkward thoughts" about the prospect of working for the Redlegs' traditional rivals.

"I had a discussion early on with Brett Duncanson and [board member] Bruce Abernethy," Thomas said.

"Bruce and I looked at each other and said, 'Can we do this? It's got warts on it', and we both agreed it did. From that moment on it started to shift. We kept talking to each other … and working through the possibilities of it.

"It wasn't terribly difficult for me, but I was conscious of how it would look to the Norwood community and the Port community."

Thomas, who will assume the role on a full-time basis within a fortnight, said his first task would be to rebuild the Port Adelaide brand, which has been hurt by a disappointing season on field and negative reports over the club's financial state.

"There's no doubt the Port Adelaide brand has been damaged this year," he said.

"That's reasonable and it's largely connected to the club's on-field performance of late, but that's temporary. These things are fixable.

"If you start to get that right, and start to get a dynamic plan in place that people can relate to and want to connect with then great things are possible quite quickly."

Katrina Gill covers Port Adelaide news for afl.com.au. Follow her on Twitter: @AFL_KatrinaGill