Former Warwickshire batsmen David Smith has been named as Mark Tagg's replacement as chief executive of Northants Cricket, and will start his new role in January.
Tagg stepped down from the role in October and since then David Beckett has been the county's acting chief executive.
But now they have appointed Smith, who has previously worked with his former county, Leicestershire and the ECB, as well as having experience in the leisure retail sector.
He said: "the club has made real progress both on and off the field over the past few years.
"The ground development has improved the facilities on offer to all visitors to the County Ground.
"The team have narrowly missed out on promotion to Division One in the LV= County Championship twice in the last three years, as well as appearing in a t20 Finals Day.
"This indicates a good quality playing staff, and I am looking forward to working with the coach David Capel and the Board of Directors to bring future success to the club."
Smith's playing career with Warwickshire spanned a ten year period between 1973 and 1985. He then spent nine years on the committee at Edgbaston following his retirement.
Most recently he was chief executive officer with Leicestershire, stepping down from that position last year.
He also has 20 years experience in many of the UK's tourist attractions, including Blackpool Tower the Winter gardens, and the Prince of Wales and Edward West End Theatres.
Northants' acting chief exec Beckett said: "David’s experience in cricket is outstanding and we are sure that he will make Northants Cricket successful in all areas of the business.
"Throughout the recruitment process, David impressed us with his plans for the ongoing improvement of Northants Cricket."
