Leadership change announced at Weldon, Williams and Lick

Tracey Geren, president and CEO of Fort Smith-based Weldon, Williams and Lick (WWL), will retire in 2024 after 38 years with the company. Ron Wilson has been named company president and will become CEO when Geren retires, the company has announced.

Geren was promoted to WWL president and CEO in August 2017 after working as chief financial officer for 37 years. She succeeded Jim Walcott, who had been president since 1985. She’s the company’s fifth president in its 125-year history, the first female president and the first non-family member president. She was a 2020 member of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Women in Business class.

Wilson has worked as president of KIS Technologies, a subsidiary of WWL.

“Ron is the right person to lead WW&L into the future. His understanding of the needs of our clients paired with the resources of the entire organization will ensure our company continues to innovate,” Geren said in a statement. “I am very grateful for my time at WW&L and so proud of everything this company has achieved. I look forward to ensuring a smooth transition for Ron and our employees in the year ahead.”

According to WWL, Wilson will lead development of long and short-term strategies and manage the overall operations of the company. During his tenure with KIS Technologies, he focused on technological advances and digital solutions to drive revenue for strategic partners.

KIS Technologies is a live event technology company offering hardware and software solutions to the ticketing and parking markets. As part of the transition, KIS Technologies will be consolidated with WW&L, and its three main products – KIS Ticket, KIS Park and KIS Kiosk – will operate as product lines of WW&L.

“I am grateful to Tracey and the WW&L team for giving me the opportunity to lead such an iconic organization,” said Wilson. “WW&L has been a leader in the printing industry for 125 years, and this transition to a focus on technology and a broader variety of services for our clients, while still offering the services that make us who we are today, will ensure we are a more well-rounded company that can meet the needs of any organization delivering live events to fans.”

Located in downtown Fort Smith, WWL has been in business since 1898. William McKinley was the U.S. President, and the country entered and concluded a war with Spain following the sinking of the USS Maine. John D. Rockefeller controlled more than 80% of oil produced in the United States.

About 95% of tickets for the Ringling Brothers Circus were at one time printed by WWL. The company in the 1920s began printing tickets for professional sports teams when it won a ticket contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. WWL also printed about 8.8 million tickets for the 2012 London Olympics.