NORTH Melbourne chairman James Brayshaw has told of the alarm bells that rang after realising he would have to try to poach Eugene Arocca from one of his colleagues and good friends.

The Kangaroos were delighted last week to announce former Collingwood lawyer and director of commercial operations Eugene Arocca as their new chief executive, filling the void left by Rick Aylett.

But Brayshaw said going after Arocca from Collingwood was a delicate matter and one he felt needed the “blessing” of Magpie president Eddie McGuire.

“It was actually my brother [Mark], as one of the directors of the footy club, who we gave the job of putting together a shortlist,” Brayshaw said.

“He rang me pretty quickly after we started getting the shortlist together and said ‘look, there’s one guy whose name keeps popping up more often than anyone else’s’.

Brayshaw, co-host of Channel Nine’s The Footy Show, said he knew what had to be done after what he heard next.

“I said ‘yeah, who’s that’ and he said ‘Eugene Arocca’ and the warning bells sounded pretty instantly,” Brayshaw said.

“So I said ‘all right, we don’t discuss his name any further until I’ve made a phone call’.

“I hung up from my brother and dialed Eddie straight away.

“I said ‘Ed, we’re trying to get a CEO as you know, and Eugene Arocca’s name keeps coming up, and I don’t want anyone from out footy club speaking to Eugene without your blessing'.

“To Eddie’s credit, and this is why he’s a class act … he said we would never stand in anyone’s way if it’s an opportunity Eugene wants to have a look at then you speak to him with our blessing.”

Brayshaw said with Arocca the North Melbourne Football Club had landed a chief executive with all the skills required to take the club forward as they fight to stay in Melbourne.

Arocca had even resisted an offer of a week off work, instead starting his new role at the Kangaroos immediately.

“One, he [Arocca] comes from an elite organisation … secondly he’s got great legal acumen, which any footy club can use at any time” Brayshaw said.

“Thirdly he’s run his own business, so the commercial side of it was really important to us … and I think the fourth thing, and I’m saying it with him sitting here, is Eugene had a bit of street fighter about him.

“He had a bit of that glint in his eye, which we need.”