HAWTHORN has lost a key member of its off-field team on the eve of the 2024 campaign, with Josh Vanderloo resigning from the club.

It's understood Vanderloo handed in his resignation last month, having joined the Hawks in 2021 as their executive general manager of operations and special projects.

Vanderloo, who had previously spent more than 15 years at the AFL in a series of game development and list management roles, played a role in structuring the current phase of Hawthorn's ongoing list rebuild.

Vanderloo had recently helped finalise Hawthorn's strategic plan for the next three seasons and was involved in the club's list direction through data and analytics, while also sitting on the board of Box Hill's VFL side.

He was also in charge of assembling the club's first ever AFLW football program and playing group ahead of the League's seventh season, while he had emerged as an internal candidate for the Hawks' chief executive role midway through last year.

Vanderloo had been a high-profile appointment for Hawthorn midway through the 2021 season, having previously replaced long-time AFL guru Ken Wood in charge of the League's total player payments (TPP) system and been a key pillar in the AFL's decision to reintroduce the Mid-Season Rookie Draft in 2019.

Hawthorn had already added to its list management ranks earlier this year when it lured four-time premiership great Jarryd Roughead back to the club as its player acquisition manager in a role focused on trade and free agency.

It was one of a number of list management changes across the AFL landscape over the summer, led by West Coast appointing Richmond's highly respected recruiting manager Matt Clarke as its list boss earlier this week.

A number of clubs – including Richmond, as well as Sydney and Fremantle – are now looking to bolster their recruiting departments in the coming weeks as a result of the summer's movements.