Having been in the role for nearly two months, new North Melbourne chief executive officer Jen Watt says she feels steeled for the challenges of the role.

The experienced executive joined the League Leaders podcast with Nicole Livingstone last week, and traced her journey from her upbringing on the Mornington Peninsula to the top job at North Melbourne.

Watt grew up in outer suburban Frankston, which once had a reputation as the "wrong side of the tracks" but has since evolved into the "gateway to the Peninsula".

"It was a great place to grow up … I couldn't have enjoyed it any more," she reminisced.

An enthusiastic netballer for the Frankston Skylarks, she would also captain her high school volleyball team and participate in aerobics.

"I was in any sport team I could get into, but I was your classic 'all heart, no talent' participant," Watt laughed.

"I was the coaches' award winner most years, and I think we all know what that means."

Watt's parents separated when she was young, and though they remained amicable, it shaped her worldview.

"It did give me a strong sense and understanding that my Mum had to go back to work, there were financial imperatives," she said.

"I've always had a strong sense of wanting to support myself and never rely on anyone, because I saw that get taken away and understood the significance of that impact."

After Year 10 Watt's parents felt she was "cruising," so shifted her from a public school on the Peninsula to the exclusive Toorak College.

Having taken some time to "sharpen up" in an academic respect, she was selected by her peers to become a prefect.

Direct democracy proved not to be the only hurdle, however.

"It caused an absolute outcry amongst the parents, and they wrote to the school and asked it be taken away from me," Watt recalled.

"They had this sense of investment … they'd paid significant fees, some of them for 11 or 12 years and here was old mate from the wrong side of the tracks rolling in and taking one of these prized positions."

Watt was called in to the principal's office, where she was asked to write a letter to prove she belonged in the role.

"(Later) she called me in, said 'I've read your letter, you're keeping your spot and I'll deal with the parents', and on we went."

As her schooling progressed, the notion crystallised that she could carve out a career in the business of sport.

After she graduated, Watt commenced a degree in commerce, majoring in sport management, commercial law and human resource management.

Her first full-time job was at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) as a membership liaison coordinator, before she formed a connection to football through ex-player agent Ricky Nixon.

Nixon's agency Flying Start was opening a gym in the Marvel Stadium precinct, and he wanted Watt, who was 23 at the time, to run it.

Through Flying Start, she would meet current colleague Todd Viney, player agents Alex McDonald and Tom Petroro, and more.

"The gym wasn't particularly successful … but the part I did get to see was how interesting footy was," she explained.

When she finished with Flying Start, Watt applied for and won a role at the Melbourne Football Club as the membership coordinator.

Over 14 years, she progressed through membership, communications, events and retail roles before settling as the Demons' general manager of marketing and communications.

"It was a very issues-rich environment at the time," she recalled.

"Tanking, Liam Jurrah, Jim Stynes' appointment and his passing, Troy Broadbridge … so even though it was a very challenging time, I learned a lot."

In her diversity of roles, Watt would be instrumental in the growth of the Pink Lady Match to support Australians affected by breast cancer, the Demons' annual Anzac eve match against Richmond, and the Big Freeze at the 'G.

She would later meet women's football pioneer Debbie Lee, then working in the community space at Melbourne.

Having realised how few resources had been allocated to women in Australian Football, the pair formulated a plan to support the growth of the game.

The Demons sponsored the then-Victorian Women's Football League, and sent coaches and players to training sessions and matches as mentors.

Soon Melbourne would stage exhibition matches against the Western Bulldogs, and just four years on from the first, the national competition was born.

Going into the inaugural season in 2017, the AFL was looking for a head of women's football, and Watt was approached.

At the same time, she was offered a role at the Melbourne Cricket Club as the general manager of commercial partnerships.

Watt spoke to then-board member and now-Melbourne chair Kate Roffey as she weighed up the competing roles.

"She gave me this great piece of advice: 'don't think about this job, think about the job you want after this job, and which of these jobs would help you get there'," she recited.

"I had the club experience; (the MCC role) would give me the stadium lens, and I really liked this idea of commerce and business and pursuing that as opposed to the community sport path.

"But it was chocolate mousse in one hand and pavlova in the other, (both) such great opportunities."

It was only in the last 12 months that Watt entertained the prospect that she could return to clubland as a CEO.

"These jobs are risky … they can be your last job (in footy). I saw that for six people at Melbourne," she pondered.

"You have to work out whether it's the right time and opportunity for you.

"The Kangaroos were on the bottom for the last two years, they've just secured the best coach of the modern era … I thought 'this is a chance for me to tell a progress story'."

The vacant role at Essendon also appealed, but she felt her experience of Melbourne's rebuild, guided by premiership coach Paul Roos, was a match for this iteration of North Melbourne.

In her pursuit of the role, she caught up with close confidants in Stuart Fox - her boss at the MCC - Dees chief executive Gary Pert, Bulldogs boss Ameet Bains and AFL executive Travis Auld among others.

"I couldn't have felt more supported … Gary Pert sat down and did a two-hour pretend interview with me!" she laughed.

Having won the role, Watt formed the competition's first all-female leadership duo with Kangaroos president Dr Sonja Hood.

The pair were familiar - Dr Hood was the community manager at North Melbourne during Watt's time with the Demons – but did not know each other well.

"Sonja appeared throughout the interview process, and I was just like 'this is such an impressive person'," Watt enthused.

"Everything she said just reinforced that – if I was lucky enough to get the opportunity - this was going to be a great board and president to work with and for."

Having navigated five weeks in the position at the time she was interviewed, Watt feels it has so far been an affirmation of her experience and approach.

"It is no shock to me that people who haven't worked in clubs often find it hard to be successful in these roles," she reflected.

"The nuanced environment, the particular media interest in and public-facing nature of clubs is very difficult to grasp if you haven't experienced it.

"There's so much noise and so much pressure that you must be resolute on your strategy when you tackle crises, and be strong enough not to bend in the breeze.

"I feel like the 20 years (in the industry) has given me good armour, but no human is totally resilient to it … preparation is key but I don't want to sound like I've worked it out."