Alex Saul, a leading figure in the commercial side of professional rugby, will be the guest speaker on Thursday (Feb 6th) at a networking event in IT Sligo organised by the Connaught region of ACCA, the global accountancy body, and the Institute of Technology.
As Head of Commercial and Marketing at Connacht Rugby since 2011, Alex has key responsibility for revenue generation. Over the past two years he has raised the commercial sponsorship from €500k to currently over €2 million.
Michael Barrett, Head of the Department of Business at IT Sligo, says: “Alex has a wealth of commercial experience which has enhanced the development of the professional game in the West of Ireland. Given his successful track record at the business end of professional rugby, his talk is bound to appeal to a wide audience.”
Before joining Connacht Rugby, Alex worked as Group Sponsorship and Branding Manager for the Welsh Rugby Union and Millennium Stadium companies in Cardiff. He joined the WRU from ERC, the body that organises the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup, where he worked in a number of tournaments, events and sponsorship delivery roles.
Michael Barrett added: “For IT Sligo, the event is a welcome opportunity and celebrates our long-standing relationship with ACCA and the support it gives, as a professional body, to our courses. Many of our students go on to become full members of the Association and our business and accounting programmes attract valuable exemptions from the body.”
The 6pm-8pm event which is free of charge, is open to the public but online booking is essential at aisling.carr@nullaccaglobal.com .
Alex Saul, Head of Commercial and Marketing at Connacht Rugby