RICHMOND chief executive Steven Wright has informed the club that he will stand down at the end of the year for health and personal reasons.

Wright, who suffered from the debilitating Guillain-Barre Syndrome in early 2007, has been in the top job for five years.

"At the time the specialist told me that following my illness I would need to work in a low hours, low stress environment," Wright said.

"Unfortunately, the 24-hour, seven day pressure cooker football environment is the exact opposite and in my time at Richmond I have put every ounce of my energy into rebuilding this wonderful club from the ground up.

"Over the past 12 months, in particular, my body has been telling me to slow down.

"Sadly I won't be able to continue as CEO of Richmond, the club that I love, and as a consequence, I advised president Gary March recently of my intention to stand down from the role at the end of the year, allowing the club time to find a suitable replacement.

"Pleasingly, I will continue to remain involved with the club in the coming year as a consultant working on both the $20 million redevelopment at Punt Road and the creation of the Australian Institute of Indigenous Learning and Skills Development.

"Over the past five years we have worked hard as a club to bring in long-term sustainable improvements.

"Whilst on-field success has eluded us during that time, the board and staff have created the building blocks that will ensure that the success each Tiger supporter craves is not too far away and when it comes it will be for a sustained period.

"I thank president Gary March, the board and our staff, sponsors and members for the fantastic support and loyalty they have shown to me over the past five years."

Richmond president Gary March said he was surprised and disappointed when Wright advised him of his decision to stand down but fully understood the issues he was having with his health.

"Both personally and as club president, I would like to recognise and thank Steven for his outstanding contribution to the club as CEO over the past five years.

"I am pleased that he will be able to continue to work with us to see through the re-development of the Punt Road Oval, a key milestone during his time at the club."

Wright achieved a number of milestones during his tenure as CEO, including:
•    40% increase in football dept expenditure whilst still delivering significant profits
•    record membership each year – over 42,000 total members in 2009
•    $20 million dollar fundraising for the soon to commence PRO redevelopment
•    the creation of a fully funded $10m secondary training venue at Craigieburn
•    a fantastic centenary year in 2008 culminating in the "100 Years of Tiger Treasures" Gala dinner
•    a stable list of bluechip sponsors
•    an outstanding community program overseen by the Tigers In Community Foundation, of which he is a director.

"Importantly, he has also totally restructured and created a professional administration which will serve the club well in years to come," March said.

"On behalf of the board and all Richmond supporters I thank Steven for his significant contribution to Richmond and I wish him and his partner Vicky all the best for the years ahead."