Shaun Harvey says the most gratifying feedback he now regularly receives — born directly from Wrexham's remarkable ascent — is a simple refrain from rivals: they wish their clubs were more like the Red Dragons.

Harvey, the former English Football League (EFL) chief executive who now serves as a director at Wrexham, has played a central role in translating the vision of Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney into operational reality at Stok Cae Ras.

Under his watch, Wrexham have claimed three consecutive promotions and are still pushing for a Championship play-off place this season.

Harvey credits his lengthy experience navigating the complexities of the EFL as an essential foundation for the contribution he has made to the club's rapid climb from the fifth-tier National League.

"All that experience is what goes into helping Wrexham on its journey and what in parts had an influence on back-to-back-to-back promotions, seeing how the club's operated and run, how it positions itself," he told the BBC's Sacked In The Morning podcast.

"The proudest thing I hear now is, 'I wish our club was like Wrexham'. Wrexham didn't exist in that format until Rob and Ryan took over.

"The supporters trust before had done a brilliant job in keeping the club alive, and all that experience has come together to help try and create, alongside [manager] Phil [Parkinson], the players, a lot of other people, the story that people are looking on now and saying, 'I wish there was more Wrexhams'."

Reynolds and McElhenney have been the driving force behind Wrexham's transformation over the past five years — one of football's most striking growth stories in recent memory.

The club's revenue has surged from just £1.48m in 2020-21 — the season in which the pair completed their takeover — to £33.3m in the latest financial year.

The owners are also behind the hugely popular Welcome To Wrexham documentary, which has significantly amplified the club's global profile and opened up new commercial revenue streams.

Yet Harvey argues that the duo's greatest asset has been their instinct to step back — trusting those with specialist expertise to run the day-to-day operations of the club.

"They've never tried to be anything that they're not, and they've always been genuine to what they are, and that is two individuals who see themselves as custodians of the football club, who want the best for the football club and know that the best way of achieving that is by putting the right people in place to allow it to live," Harvey said.

"Rob and Ryan are the club's best cheerleaders. They are the face of the club, which takes pressure off everywhere else."

In Harvey's view, that dynamic has created a ripple effect far beyond the pitch.

"The biggest beneficiaries of this whole Wrexham experience is the local community," said the 56-year-old executive.

"I've had five wonderful years there, we're still going and we're still successful.

"Phil's into his fifth season as manager as well. We're all loving the experience, but the long-term benefit to the community is actually what will really signify, in the end, how successful this whole quest has been."

For all the success accumulated under their ownership, Harvey acknowledges there was genuine scepticism about the actors' intentions when they first expressed an interest in the club.

But the former Leeds United CEO says Reynolds and McElhenney moved quickly to put those doubts to rest.