The outgoing St Kilda chief operating officer becomes the Dogs' fourth chief in three years, following the stints of Simon Garlick, David Stevenson and the outgoing Gary Kent.

The Dogs expect Bains to start his new position in December, subject to completing certain duties with St Kilda.

"We had a broad range of well-credentialled candidates for the position, both from inside the AFL industry and from a range of other professions. I'd like to thank them all for their interest," said Bulldogs president Peter Gordon.

"We think that Ameet is ideally suited to our club's next stage of development, with his mix of legal, commercial, projects and football expertise."

Bains said he was "honoured and humbled" to be appointed Bulldogs CEO.

"The club is well-positioned given its recent premiership success and accompanying commercial growth," he said.

"I look forward to working with a very talented team in building upon this success."

The winner of the AFL's Graeme Samuel Scholarship in 2015, Bains had been strongly linked to the Hawthorn chief executive job that eventually went this year to Tracey Gaudry, whose brief tenure ended just after the grand final. She was subsequently replaced by Geelong chief operating officer Justin Reeves. That means Bains' appointment leaves half of the recent Victorian chief executive vacancies filled, with replacements for Carlton (Steven Trigg) and Collingwood (Gary Pert) still to come.

There is no obvious replacement for Bains at St Kilda, whose role at the club has been wide-ranging. His involvement has extended to list management and the redevelopment of Moorabbin.

He studied law/banking and finance at Monash University, working as a lawyer before becoming St Kilda's general manager player list and legal affairs in 2011, before being promoted in 2014.