Stewart Regan vowed to establish a common agenda among key stakeholders in Scottish football after being unveiled as the governing body's new chief executive on Wednesday.
Regan, who will join the Scottish Football Association in October when he steps down from the same role at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, spoke enthusiastically about co-operation at the top levels of the game and with public officials.
The 46-year-old, who was instrumental in re-branding the Championship in his time with the Football League, claimed Scottish football had lost its way in recent years.
And he believes he can help steer it back on course by ensuring key stakeholders work together for a shared vision. Regan, from County Durham, worked closely with Scottish Premier League counterpart Neil Doncaster while he was at Norwich.
"Collaboration, for me, is one of the biggest opportunities," Regan said. "I know Neil Doncaster very well. I think knowing Neil was a contributory factor to me taking the job.
"Neil and I had a good working relationship, Neil and I were both on the commercial committee together. It's important - when you look around the world, and at English football, there is a need for partners to talk.
"It really does need collaboration to move forward. I would like to think that all parties in Scottish football can work together and rebuild football in this country for the long term.
"I think there is an opportunity to work with government, the education authorities, the department for health and create a new blueprint for Scottish football and actually work together to try to build something special for the future.''
Regan, who worked for 16 years in the brewing industry, added: "This is not just about Scottish football, it's about sport, it's about the wider remit of developing healthier kids that are more interested in their lifestyle, and starting at grass roots and working through.''
Regan spoke about trying to rebuild the Scottish game, with his recent impression of football in the country dominated by disharmony.
"I don't think there is anything wrong with the game - football in Scotland is an institution," Regan said. "It has incredibly passionate supporters and stakeholders from the media, sponsors and so on.
"But I think the game has drifted a bit in recent times. As an outsider looking in I have seen lots of fall-outs, lots of disagreements, challenges and criticisms of how things are done.
"I think there is a need to draw a line in the sand and say that building football for the future in Scotland isn't just the job of the Scottish FA.
"The Scottish FA can lead, but I think the Scottish FA need to bring people with them and bring partners to the table.''
Much of Regan's rhetoric mirrored the stated aims of predecessor Gordon Smith. Smith's main initiatives included closer working relationships with government, encouraging children to lead healthier lifestyles and introducing thousands of school pupils to organised football.
Regan admitted he had not studied the former Rangers player's work in detail but he clearly feels there are improvements to be made.
"I don't know what Gordon Smith was trying to do, I'll have to look at that,'' he said. "My view is that there is a job to do in Scottish football and it needs to result in talented kids coming out that can go on and represent the national team.''
Smith's near three-year tenure ended in April and SFA president George Peat claimed his appointment had not been successful.
Peat has moved to bring in someone with a stronger business background, especially with the recruitment process for a newly-created performance director set to begin next month.
But Smith, who admitted being hampered by negative elements when he resigned, today warned his successor that co-operation at the top level of the game was not easy.
Smith regularly held discussions with Doncaster and Scottish Football League associate David Longmuir, but his vision for a unified pyramid structure was frustrated.
Smith told Sky Sports News: "There are certain things that come up where each body maybe has a bit of self-interest there. That's very difficult to avoid.
"But discussions were taking place. The chief executives of the three associations used to meet on a regular basis. It's very important to keep that going.
"It's not always easy because sometimes there are certain decisions that are made that might not suit each one of the three parties.''
