Mayo GAA land county's first CEO
Mayo GAA has appointed Ruairí Conroy as its first-ever chief executive officer, with the Tuar Mhic Éadaigh native set to take up the role from June next.
Conroy's appointment was ratified by delegates at a Mayo GAA County Board meeting this evening (Tuesday).
He will oversee the commercial growth, sponsorship and strategic planning of Mayo GAA, while providing professional support to clubs, volunteers, players and stakeholders across the county.
A graduate of the University of Limerick and TU Dublin, where he studied IT and telecommunications and strategic management, Conroy brings more than 20 years of commercial and corporate experience to the role, having worked with a range of global multinationals.
He began his career in Irish media, holding sales positions with radio stations 98FM and Spin 1038, before joining Google, where he spent five years in commercial sales management.
He also completed the Google business leadership programme at Duke University.
After leaving Google in 2013, Conroy joined AdRoll as director of sales for EMEA, growing the company from two employees to 100 within three years. He returned to Mayo in 2015 and the following year took on the role of managing director of EMEA for SiteMinder, scaling its Irish operation from two staff to 140 employees in Galway.
Most recently, Conroy has served as vice-president of global sales development and site leader at Diligent, a US software company, where he leads a global commercial team generating more than $300 million of pipeline annually.
His appointment was managed through a recruitment process overseen by Collins McNicholas.
Speaking on his appointment, Conroy said it was an incredibly proud moment for him and his family. His primary focus, he added, would be to provide professional support to club officials, players and stakeholders, alongside implementing a strategic growth plan to ensure Mayo GAA has the resources needed to give its teams every opportunity to succeed.
Conroy will also play a leading role in delivering Mayo GAA's planned centre of excellence in Bohola.
Mayo GAA chairperson Seamus Tuohy welcomed the announcement, describing Conroy's commercial and corporate background as an asset at what he called a critical time for the county board.