David Misson will depart the St Kilda Football Club in pursuit of new opportunities in passion fields of high performance, athlete development and organisational design.
Misson was the Saints' Head of Football, and spent eight years in Moorabbin over two stints. He rejoined the club in 2022 as the high-performance boss and quickly stepped into the GM of Football.
Misson also assisted senior coach Ross Lyon in developing his panel as well as realigning the club's processes and standards, applying them to the wider program.
Ironically, Lyon will take over the role heading into the off-season.
Ross Lyon has assumed acting head of football duties at @stkildafc, in addition to being the senior coach.
With Dave Misson exiting, Lyon will have oversight on coaching, recruiting, list management and high performance & pre-season planning. Ross the boss ✔️.@FootyonNine…
— Tom Morris (@tommorris32) October 2, 2025
"It has been a pleasure and a privilege returning to the Saints, a club I feel incredibly passionate about and wholeheartedly want to see succeed," Misson said.
"To play a role in setting up the club for success in what is an exciting chapter ahead makes me incredibly proud, and I leave knowing the hard yards Ross and I have done have been worthwhile.
"There are many special people involved with this footy club and I particularly want to thank Carl, Andrew Bassat and the Board, as well as Ross, for their ongoing support.
"I wish the players and staff all the best for the coming season."
St Kilda CEO Carl Dilena thanked Misson's contribution to the club.
"David has been a tireless contributor to the Saints over eight seasons across two key periods for the football club," Dilena said.
"As a club, we've benefited greatly from David's extensive knowledge and experience in high performance spanning over 25 years and multiple sports.
"Upon recommencing with the club, he successfully set up and embedded an industry-leading high-performance team and later, stepped up to support the wider operations of the program.
"While we will miss David, I hope that he leaves with a sense of satisfaction for the part he has played in setting up our men's program and athletes for ultimate success."
St Kilda joins Port Adelaide and Gold Coast in the hunt for a new head of football.
Chris Davies (Port Adelaide) and Wayne Campbell (Gold Coast) have found new homes, with Davies joining Carlton and Campbell landing at Sydney.
