Galway sports automation player Clubforce appoints former Microsoft AsiaPac leader as its new CEO to drive its international expansion.
Warren Healy, founder of Clubforce, a market leader in sports club automation, has appointed a new leader and CEO at his company.
The new CEO is Noel Murray, former Managing Director of Sales Operations, Asia Pacific, China, India & Japan at Microsoft and current Chairman of the Board at Clubforce.
“Clubforce is uniquely positioned to reshape and lead in this sector”
Murray is an experienced and commercially driven leader, with broad experience in the technology sector. He has a track record of defining strategy, leading change, establishing operational scale, hiring and developing strong leaders, building organisational capability and consistently delivering strong business results.
Changing the game
Clubforce has transformed the way sports clubs are managed and is the leading club automation platform, used by teams worldwide to connect members, take the pain from admin and drive club fundraising forward. Clubforce allows volunteers, parents and players to work together effectively, receiving the right information at the right time so everyone can participate to their very best.
Healy said that the appointment of Murray, up until now chair of Clubforce as CEO positions the Galway company for international growth.
Healy now assumes the role of Chief Product Officer at Clubforce.
“We feel privileged that Noel has come on board to lead the Clubforce team and it’s a testament to how far the company has come,” he said. “To be honest, when I approached Noel, I had no idea how he would respond. Noel has a massive depth of international experience across multiple products, functions and markets and extensive industry knowledge from a long tenure at Microsoft. His fresh perspective will push us harder and faster towards operational excellence and focused market expansion. It’s a game-changer for the company. The board, the management team and I are all very excited. Our goal is to build a global enterprise from Galway. Noel’s appointment will be a significant contributor towards the achievement of this goal”.
Healy founded Clubforce in Carna in Connemara in 2009. The software began its life as a pet technology project, a fundraising tool for Irish Diaspora to send money to their clubs back home. The demand for a complete set of secure online payments soon expanded the product features with demand spreading to Galway, then across the country and further afield to the UK. Warren built the application entirely around the needs of the Sports Volunteer.
Over the years Healy built an impressive network of clubs, sports associations, governing bodies and sport and technology leaders both in Ireland and Internationally, he has partnered with organisations like Connacht Rugby, the Federation of Irish Sport, more recently STATSports and Output Sports and he has created a technical integration with both the FAI and the GAA platforms.
Healy led his team to raise €2.5m in funding in February 2021 as well as receiving Enterprise Ireland backing for international expansion.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to deliver Warren’s vision for Clubforce and to be able to innovate in an industry I am passionate about,” Murray said.
“Clubforce is uniquely positioned to reshape and lead in this sector. As the chair of the company, I have been fortunate to have spent considerable time with Warren and the leadership team during the last year to deepen my understanding of the market and our customers. Sport plays a huge role in our communities and social lives; it is a connector and source of wellbeing. It is great to be part of a company centred on making sport happen.”
