Her task is to create the best NBL team while working closely with the amateur body of Basketball Hawke's Bay.
"Basketball is an entertainment and you want to provide that whole package that will draw the crowds," she said. "Success at the top level has far-reaching spin-offs for the rest of the sport and that's what we want to create in Hawke's Bay."
Dearns first played in the women's national basketball league for Tauranga as a 16-year-old. She then had stints with Wellington, a couple of years playing in Melbourne and finishing off with the Bay.
She is a trustee on the board of Sport Hawke's Bay. She was also a board member of the Golf Managers' Association of New Zealand for six years and on the original advisory board when the New Zealand Institute of Sport was set up.
In netball, Dearns sat on the board of the Western Flyers franchise in her capacity as the regional manager for Eastern.
She has coached basketball and netball at myriad levels, her most recent role was assistant coach of Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic netball franchise in the transtasman competition.
"I'm really looking forward to the opportunity with the Hawks," Dearns said.
"It's a blank canvas, so what we are looking to do from here on in is really exciting ... Our major focus is taking the vision that the board has got and putting it into a semblance of order, building some structures around that and making sure we've got buy in from all of our relevant parties."
The Hawks board of directors welcomed Dearns' expertise.
Board director David Aflallo said: "Tanya has a proven record of success on court and off court and will bring a wealth of experience to the Hawks both from an elite sports perspective and in the field of sport administration.
"The Hawks have a long and competitive history in the NBL and we are looking to build a team around our region's support base that will bring a second NBL title to the Bay. Tanya's appointment is another positive step on the way to that goal."
