Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd has agreed to take over at Northampton Saints ahead of the 2018-19 Aviva Premiership season.
Boyd, 59, who led the Hurricanes to the 2016 Super Rugby title, will arrive at Franklin's Gardens on a three-year contract to become Jim Mallinder's long-term successor.
"I am humbled and excited to be joining Saints," he said. "Northampton Saints is a club I have admired all of my coaching career.
"I visited Franklin's Gardens for a week in 2004 when Wayne Smith was head coach, and remember the passion of the Saints supporters and the strong culture at the club.
"Franklin's Gardens is an excellent stadium with first-class facilities, and when John White and Mark Darbon outlined the vision for Saints, it was a project I very much wanted to be part of.
"The club's ambitions match my own - I am confident I can help the Saints become one of the biggest and best teams in Europe."
Saints had been on the lookout for a permanent boss since Mallinder was sacked in December. Boyd will take over from Alan Gaffney, who joined the club as a consultant on New Year's Day.
"We said at the start of the process that we were looking for a world class director of rugby, and we've secured one of the very best," CEO Darbon said.
"Chris' CV speaks for itself; his achievements in Super Rugby are notable and his experience with the New Zealand age group sides is impressive. His track record of building a championship-winning side with a mix of experienced and young players was exactly what we were looking for.
"His teams play attacking rugby and Chris is well known as a deep thinker with an immense rugby brain who communicates well with his players. We look forward to him taking charge later this year."