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Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have announced that chief executive officer Michael Williamson has departed his position after two years at the club.
The 54-year-old arrived at Wrexham in 2024, shortly after the Red Dragons had clinched promotion to League One. Williamson subsequently oversaw an extraordinary third consecutive promotion to the Championship before the club achieved its highest-ever league finish, ending seventh in the most recent season.
Wrexham director Shaun Harvey will assume the role of acting chief executive with immediate effect.
Wrexham Confirm Shock Exit of Key Figure After Two Years
A club statement released on behalf of McElhenney and Reynolds on Friday afternoon expressed gratitude for Williamson's contributions to the club.
"We thank Michael Williamson for his two years at Wrexham and for his work taking the club from League 1 to the Championship," the statement read.
"Since our takeover five years ago, Wrexham have had historic success on the pitch and won hearts all over the globe. We remain focused on our most important task: to make the Wrexham community proud.
"Shaun Harvey has been an integral part of this journey from the beginning, and we know Shaun will give every support to Phil Parkinson and the lads on the pitch while keeping the broader Wrexham community roaring us on."
Commercial Growth At Expense of Community?
The surprising news of Williamson's exit comes just one day before the men's first team is set to face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship.
Williamson, who was awarded Football Industry Leader of the Year at the inaugural Global Football Industry Awards last year, credited himself with playing a pivotal role in developing the club's new academy facility at Darland High School and securing EFL Academy Category 3 status.
He also presided over a considerable expansion of club staffing as Wrexham sought to grow its operations across the men's, women's and youth teams. Williamson was equally prominent in the redevelopment of the Kop Stand, with the new $95 million structure expected to be completed next year.
Despite the club's impressive rise in recent years, some fans have questioned whether Wrexham's growing commercialization has come at the cost of its bond with the local community.
His time at the club did not begin smoothly when Wrexham was forced to scrap the contentious £10 ($13) surcharge he had introduced for the fan zone behind the club's temporary Kop Stand following a fierce backlash from supporters.
The former Inter Milan executive also made the divisive decision to take charge of the club's summer transfer activity from Harvey. Wrexham went on to spend $48 million on seven signings, with their recruitment approach appearing somewhat disjointed. After Wrexham became the last Championship club to complete a signing, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder accused them of adopting a "blanket bomb" strategy in the final weeks of the transfer window, claiming they were "in for half the division."
Further questions were raised over the club's choice not to sign a striker, while fan favourite Arthur Okonkwo was loaned to Championship rivals Charlton Athletic despite having only a year left on his contract.
Off the transfer front, Williamson was also compelled to pull controversial merchandise releases, including a jacket featuring the white dragon — a symbol more commonly associated with English mythology than Wales. The club also briefly sold England baseball caps as part of a clothing line tied to the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Just last week, Wrexham were handed a £75,000 ($100,000) fine for fielding two ineligible players in the Championship this season. The subsequent EFL report delivered a damning assessment of the incidents, with Wrexham fortunate to escape a points deduction for the violations.
Supporters were also left concerned when Humphrey Ker stepped down from the club's board and his role as a trustee of the Wrexham AFC Foundation in September, later acknowledging that his sudden departure was a "complicated" matter, but ultimately one he felt compelled to act on.