THE WESTERN Bulldogs say they have made a bold move in appointing David Stevenson as their CEO, but believe the former Nike vice-president of sales "represents a transformational opportunity" for the club.

After an exhaustive search, which included input from recruitment specialists, the club's board, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan and AFL operations manager Travis Auld, Stevenson was appointed after eight formal interviews.

The Oregon-based two-time Yarra Valley best and fairest winner, who was raised in Ringwood, will relocate to Melbourne with his young family in the coming weeks.

However, he won't start at the Bulldogs until early August.

President Peter Gordon said the decision was a bold one and again showed the Dogs "prioritise quality and integrity [but] are not risk-averse", following recent appointments such as untried coach Luke Beveridge and the recruitment of Tom Boyd.

"It's fair to say there were some more 'steady-as-she-goes' candidates than Dave," Gordon said.

"Dave is definitely not a steady-as-she-goes choice. Instead, we believe he represents a transformational opportunity for the club. 

"We want to make a permanent move out of the basement of the AFL – size-wise, profit-wise and success-wise. 

"We have opted for the candidate who provides us with the best prospect of achieving that."

Stevenson most recently occupied the position of vice-president of sales for Nike's emerging markets, where he was based at the company's US headquarters.

Stevenson said he wanted to "make a real difference in the AFL and the community with the Bulldogs" when he started later this year.

"I have high ambitions for the team and the club, and with a united club all working hard for one another towards the same vision, we have a very exciting future ahead of us.  

"The Bulldogs have a great history of heroic battles, and now has the prime opportunity to galvanise its position and achieve things in the next 10 years that would have been unthinkable not so long ago." 

Stevenson won the role from a shortlist of 12 candidates.

Gordon and acting CEO Michael Quinn will continue to carry out the role until Stevenson arrives at Whitten Oval.