Hurricanes and Wellington boss Greg Peters has been named the first full-time chief executive of the SANZAR rugby alliance.

SANZAR - South Africa, New Zealand, Australia rugby - on Tuesday appointed Peters to fill the position which has been rotated among the three countries since the alliance was established in 1996 when the sport turned professional.

Peters, who will be based in Sydney, will take up his position on November 1.

He has been chief executive of the Hurricanes and Wellington Rugby Football Union since 2006.

Before that he worked on behalf of Sanzar in the role of tournament director and also managed the broadcast contract negotiations in 2003 and 2004, when the Sanzar secretariat was managed by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU).

Peters also held a variety of roles with the NZRU from 1998 to 2006.

Sanzar chairman Mike Eagle said Peters was a great fit for the organisation given his previous roles and Sanzar experience, and with his insight as a chief executive one of the participating franchises in Super rugby.

"Sanzar is in the midst of its largest transformation since its foundation with the expansion to 15 teams and a new conference-based model for Super rugby, and the inclusion of Argentina from 2012 in a revamped Tri-Nations, so it's a vital time to evolve the off-field structures," he said.

"Greg brings a wealth of relevant experience and is well respected not only in New Zealand but in rugby circles across Sanzar so we believe he is the right person to lead us in this exciting growth phase for rugby in the southern hemisphere."

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