The Dons Trust is pleased to announce the re-appointment of Mick Buckley as chair of the AFC Wimbledon Club board.
Since being asked by the DTB to step into the role in 2022, Mick has been central to a successful period of stabilisation for the Club including leading the appointment and development of our leadership team, which includes director of football Craig Cope and managing director James Woodroof.
This appointment is subject to ratification at the December 2025 Dons Trust AGM, when his current term is due to conclude.
The process to fill this position began last summer, with a respected sports executive search firm commissioned to undertaken to identify suitable candidates. The search yielded over a hundred applicants, who were carefully reviewed and sifted to create an initial shortlist of half a dozen.
This shortlist was further refined, resulting in a final two candidates by December.
Due to the timing of the process and the 2024 Dons Trust elections, the search company and the board agreed that the final decision should be made by the new board. Due to diary conflicts, and the new board taking its role the process didn’t conclude until February. The final appointment decision was reached in March, and ratified at the DTB and AFCW board meetings in April.
This thorough search process has provided valuable lessons for the Club and Trust:
- The scope of the chair’s role is currently too broad for the non-exec, one day a week, voluntary role that was advertised. Feedback from both the search company and the candidates highlighted that the time commitment, particularly for a volunteer position, is excessively demanding
- Conducting a search process of this nature over a Dons Trust election period and the transition to a new board was not ideal and created unnecessary delays
- We need to continue to review our leadership structure as we grow in size and complexity, this was consistent in the feedback of all candidates.
To address these points, the new chair, the Club board, and the Dons Trust board will work collaboratively to:
- Prioritise a review of the board’s future structure
- Develop our succession planning for senior roles, including the chair.
These actions will ensure the club is better prepared for future leadership transitions. In the meantime we look forward to continue working with Mick as the Club continues to grow on-and-off the pitch.