The November 1 opening of the player market gives Perth Bears chief executive Tony Rea an opportunity to pursue star recruits before the club's 2027 NRL debut.
The Bears, set to become the competition's 18th franchise, have yet to secure a marquee signing.
Rea takes over after Anthony De Ceglie left the role last month amid reports he had lost the board's support. De Ceglie, a former Seven West Media news and current affairs director, had no rugby league background.
Six months earlier, general manager of football David Sharpe had quit after reportedly falling out with key figures.
Rea, 60, played 120 games for North Sydney from 1988 to 1994 and captained the Bears to the 1991 preliminary final. He later worked as a player, coach and chief executive at London Broncos.
In 2011, he briefly coached the Brumbies after Andy Friend was sacked. After a home defeat, Rea criticised the club's decisions: "We have just too many people and an organisation that makes too many soft decisions too often, and now they're the bulk and the norm," he said.
Rea said his varied club experience would inform his leadership, rather than see him take on other roles. "My job as CEO is not to do any one of those jobs but rather to use that experience to lead the professional team together as one, committed to success."