After 136 years of a male-led rugby union, former Black Fern Cherry Blyde is Taranaki Rugby's first female president.
"I am very confident that it won't take another 136 years for there to be another female in the same role," she said.
Chief executive Mike Sandle said she was right for the job.
"She has a great personality, she knows rugby, she has an understanding of the environment we live in, so I think she is a very-well-rounded person to be our president," he said.
Blyde, the mother of sevens superstar Michaela Blyde, converted to rugby after missing out on a netball team.