Melbourne, Dec 3 : Todd Greenberg has been announced as the new Cricket Australia chief executive. He will succeed current CEO Nick Hockley, who announced in August he would leave the position at the end of the domestic summer in March.

"Greenberg will bring a wealth of experience to the position from his roles across the sporting industry including as CEO of the National Rugby League and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, General Manager of Stadium Australia and most recently as CEO of the Australian Cricketers' Association," Cricket Australia said in a release.

Greenberg, the current Australian Cricketers' Association CEO and former CEO of the National Rugby League, will assume the post in March.

He will become the 15th man to be either secretary or chief executive of the governing body for cricket in Australia since the organisation was first founded in March 1892 as the Australasian Cricket Council.

Greenberg has an extensive background in cricket having played First Grade for Randwick in NSW Premier Cricket. He played 10 seasons for Randwick CC in Sydney between 1987 and 1997 as a top-order batter.

The 53-year-old, who previously worked with Cricket NSW before transitioning to the chief executive role with the Canterbury Bulldogs. He then became the NRL chief executive in 2016, a position he held for four years. After leaving the NRL, he took on his current role as the chief of the Australian Cricketers' Association.

'I am grateful to be given the opportunity to take on this enormously important role in Australian sport and to further my involvement with a game I've loved since childhood. This is an extremely exciting time for cricket with the rapid growth of the game across the globe creating fantastic opportunities, while also presenting some challenges to ensure Australian cricket retains its position at the very peak of the game.

'Thanks to the work of the current administration the game has strong fundamentals in place. I want to ensure we build on this momentum so Australian cricket continues to thrive - from local parks to the nation's biggest stadiums," Greenberg said.

Mike Baird, CA Chair said, "Todd will bring enormous experience to the role from his time leading the National Rugby League and his current position as CEO of the Australian Cricketers' Association, as well as his time in club and stadium management.

"He is also a renowned driver of commercial growth and innovation, such as bringing the State of Origin to Melbourne and introducing the NRLW. We are entering a period of great opportunity and the recruitment panel and CA Board was enormously impressed by Todd's passion for cricket and his vision to build on the achievements of the past few years and continue the game's growth."

"I would like to thank Nick Hockley who will leave the game in a position of great strength at the end of the season with important foundations including our broadcast rights deal, MOU and seven-year content strategy in place," he added.

/IANS