Hawthorn chief executive Justin Reeves has resigned from his position at the club, effective immediately.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the club said Reeves would step away to focus on “his wellbeing in what has been a very difficult period for the club”.
Ash Klein will take over as acting CEO.
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“Reeves will step down from the role effective immediately due to the personal toll and the need to focus on his wellbeing in what has been a very difficult period for the club,” the statement read.
Reeves said he was grateful for the opportunity to lead the club for the past five and a half years, since taking over in November 2017.
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“I’ve worked hard with my team to establish strong foundations for the club to work through some important cultural, strategic and operational matters and, with that work done, I’m confident the club can emerge stronger than ever,” he said.
“I believe now is the right time to hand over to new leadership.”
New Hawks president Andy Gowers thanked Reeves for his contribution to the club.
“Justin is a highly respected sporting executive, which is a reputation built from delivering great results and running sound operations for more than 15 years in AFL football,” Gowers said.
“On behalf of the Board, I thank Justin for his unwavering commitment to the Hawks over nearly six years, during which there has been some challenging periods that required astute leadership.
“Hawthorn has initiated a search for a new CEO and we look forward to working with Acting CEO Ash Klein in the meantime.”
It’s been a tough 12 months for the Hawks off the field after premiership star Cyril Rioli first aired his claims of racism at the club.
In September, a Hawthorn-commissioned review into treatment of the club’s First Nations players was made public with damning allegations surrounding former coach Alastair Clarkson, then-assistant Chris Fagan and staffer Jason Burt.
And since then, the club has been embroiled in the fall out of that report, with the investigation yet to be completed.
