Does it signal the start of a David White house-cleaning of the faltering high-performance programme?
And, does it put the captaincy tenure of Ross Taylor under the spotlight?
The answers are most likely yes, and yes.
Hesson was appointed in preference to two Australian candidates, a signal director of cricket John Buchanan was not the key voice in this appointment.
A well-placed source said he expected to see casualties within the high-performance set-up before too long.
And Taylor can no longer be guaranteed a long reign as captain. Very much a John Wright appointment, he was chosen not only for his cricketing brain and undoubted talent, but also because he was more pliable than the other candidate, Brendon McCullum.
Where Wright wants players to do what they were told, Hesson said yesterday he wanted them to take more responsibility on their own shoulders.
Quite apart from the fact they have an affinity for each other through their work at Otago, Hesson might argue McCullum is more suited to delivering that style of leadership.
The decision is unlikely to be his alone, however.
Hesson (37) could not be much more different than the man he will replace. As a 23-year-old, the age at which Wright was making his test debut for New Zealand, Hesson became the coaching director for Otago Cricket.
Where Wright enjoyed an 18-year career in first class cricket and became one of this country's finest batsmen, Hesson has spent a similar spell picking teams and perfecting tactics in various roles within Otago and New Zealand Cricket.
And if New Zealand fans were clamouring for Wright's appointment after he turned India into one of the best sides in world cricket, few were doing the same after Hesson spent 11 months in charge of Kenya.
But, despite all the accolades and prestige assigned to his name, Wright failed to achieve the task of turning New Zealand into a consistent, winning side.
That burden now falls to Hesson, and he could not be happier having earned a role he admitted was "tummy-churning".
"Ever since I was a young coach, 17 or 18 years ago, it was a dream of mine to coach the Black Caps, so you can imagine how I'm feeling at the moment," Hesson said.
"I'm a proud Kiwi and I'm very much a true believer in New Zealand cricket."
Unfortunately, all the belief in the world does nothing to patch over the holes that have sunk the national side in recent years.
Many fans may wonder what chance Hesson has to perform that particular fix-it, if it was beyond the abilities of Wright, but Hesson was having none of the comparison.
"I don't consider myself as trying to take over his mantle. I think it's a fresh start and I'm looking forward to putting my own stamp on things," he said.
"John Wright is an absolute legend of New Zealand cricket. Firstly, as a player he's well-respected throughout the world. As a coach, he's highly experienced, did a superb job with India and followed it on with the Black Caps."
Nor did Hesson believe his absence of a playing career was a hindrance. "It's not a prerequisite to be an ex-international.
You look at people in different sports - Sir Graham Henry for one - and there's many out there who have been able to do it without playing. I consider myself a career coach." Chief executive David White viewed the appointment as long-term and he was confident the "rigorous and probing" process found the right man.
"I'm just delighted with the result we've got - a high-quality person and a high-quality coach," he said.
