Bradley Moran (born 29 September 1986 in England) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Since his retirement from the AFL in 2011, Moran has worked in business and founded two startup technology companies: NoQ in 2011 and CitrusAd in 2017.[1] CitrusAd was acquired in July 2021 by French company Publicis for a reported $205 million.[2][3][4]
| Brad Moran | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Bradley Moran | ||
| Date of birth | 29 September 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Solihull, England | ||
| Original team(s) | Southport Sharks/Surfers Paradise Demons | ||
| Draft | 58th overall, 2004 National draft | ||
| Height | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) | ||
| Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Ruckman | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2006–2007 | North Melbourne | 3 (0) | |
| 2008–2011 | Adelaide | 18 (8) | |
| Total | 21 (8) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2011. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life edit
Born in Solihull[5] in the West Midlands of England to English parents, Moran's father Martyn was a former junior soccer player. Moran grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon with dreams of becoming a soccer player. As a youth, he represented West Midlands county in rugby union. He was also a representative soccer player.
Moran moved to Australia with his family as a 15-year-old, looking to pursue a career in rugby. One of his school friends encouraged him to try Aussie (Australian) Rules with the Surfers Paradise AFC juniors, where he was mentored by former Brisbane Bears captain Roger Merrett and quickly showed talent in the ruck. As his high school The Southport School (TSS) did not encourage Australian Football, Moran continued playing AFL club-level football while playing basketball and rowing at school. Moran became an elite schoolboy rower for TSS when his team won the Queensland State title which qualified it to compete at the 2003 National Championships in the open division at the age of 16.[6]
Although breaking his wrist prior to the Under 18 national championships set back his national AFL entry, Moran was recruited from the Southport Sharks by the Kangaroos Football Club during the 2004 AFL draft ]].[7]
AFL career edit
Wearing the number 18 guernsey, previously worn by Wayne Carey, Moran made his AFL debut in 2006 against Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium, playing an effective game with 21 disposals, 10 marks and 10 hitouts, which earned him a nomination for the AFL Rising Star Award.
Moran was traded to the Adelaide Football Club at the end of the 2007 Premiership season, where he took up the number 2 guernsey, also previously worn by Carey during his brief stint at the Crows.[8] After early season injuries in 2008, Moran played his first game for the Crows in round 16 and impressed as a tall defender and ruckman. In round 18, Moran was moved into the forward line against Carlton to cover the loss of Jason Porplyzia where he booted four goals to help the Crows to an eight-point victory. [9]
In 2009, Moran became a regular in the Adelaide side, forming a ruck combination with Ivan Maric. However, midway through the season he injured his knee, which kept him out for the remainder of the season. Moran announced his retirement on 31 August 2011 after ongoing injuries.[10]
Business career edit
After retiring from the Adelaide Crows, Moran launched a startup technology business called NoQ (pronounced "no queue"),[11] which offered a smartphone application that allowed its users to avoid queues by pre-ordering and paying for food and drinks such as coffee. During the next five years, Moran successfully raised capital for NoQ from investors including Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and secured clients such as Westfield Group and Noodle Box. He left the business in 2016.
In March 2017, Moran and former NoQ colleague Nick Paech launched an advertising technology start-up called CitrusAd, based in Brisbane. Using AI technology, the CitrusAd system could cull large amounts of shopper data to ensure retail websites and apps delivered personalized offers to customers. CitrusAd was sold as a simple-to-use, self-service, white label platform for individual retailers who wanted to compete with Amazon for a share of the sponsored product market.
In August 2018, CitrusAd stated that 14 AU retailers including Dan Murphy’s were already using its platform.[12] By June of 2019, CitrusAd announced it had signed Coles Group, Ocado, Techdata, Woolworths and the company’s first U.S.retailer, Hy-Vee.[13][14][15]
In June 2020, MA Financial Group (part of Moelis & Company) announced an investment of AU6.5 million in CitrusAd, funding the company’s international growth. That month, Moran announced CitrusAd had signed international clients including Groupon in the U.S. and Sainsbury's in the UK.[16][17][18]
In July 2021, French company Publicis Groupe announced it had acquired CitrusAd for an undisclosed amount. [19] In October 2021, the Australian Financial Review reported that Publicis had paid AU$205 million for CitrusAd.[2][20] Moran continues to hold a senior executive role at CitrusAd under its new owner.
Awards and recognitions edit
- In October 2023, Moran was listed at place #66 on the Australia’s Young Rich List, published by the Australian Financial Review . [21] [22]
- In December 2021, Moran won the Digital Disruptor award in the 2021 Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards.[23]
- Moran also won the Digital Disruptor award in the 2020 Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards.[24]
- 2019 Pearcey Queensland Entrepreneur Award Finalist.[25]
- Top 20 under 40 Young Business Stars.[26]
- Named as one of the Top 100 Digital Entrepreneurs in Australia.[27]
References edit
- ^ "About : The Founders". CitrusAd. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Ex-AFL star sells start-up for $205m after just four years". Australian Financial Review. 18 October 2021.
- ^ "Former AFL star Brad Moran sells start-up company for $205 million". Fox Sports. 20 October 2021.
- ^ "Publicis Forms New Leadership With Creative Commerce Bet". www.adweek.com. 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Brad Moran". AFL on the Gold Coast. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008.
- ^ "2003 National Championships, Australian Rowing History".
- ^ "Moran shines first-up". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
- ^ "AdelaideNow... Moran's half-back hopes". Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ Crows hold out Blues Archived 2008-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ""It Becomes Depressing": Ex-Crow Opens Up on Injury-Ravaged Career". Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "Brad Moran on leaving early and dodging the queue". AFL Players' Association. 3 September 2013.
- ^ "New ad platform lets retailers monetise digital shelf space". Inside Retail. 22 August 2018.
- ^ "Why In-House Media Agencies Need a Shake-Up". 27 June 2019.
- ^ "CitrusAd Snares Five New Retail Clients". 24 June 2020.
- ^ "2019 Qld Pearcey Entrepreneur Nominations". The Pearcey Foundation.
- ^ "Former AFL player raises $6.6m for online advertising start-up". Australian Financial Review. 22 June 2020.
- ^ "MA Financial Group Growth Capital Fund Invests A$6.5m in CitrusAd". MA Financial Group (Moelis).
- ^ Bencic, Emily (30 June 2020). "Major global retailers sign up with CitrusAd".
- ^ "Publicis Groupe to Acquire CitrusAd to Lead the New Generation of Identity-led Retail Media". www.businesswire.com. 15 July 2021.
- ^ Palmer-Derrien, Stephanie (19 October 2021). "Five Aussie startups acquired for more than $100 million in 2021". SmartCompany.
- ^ "Young RIch". AFR.com. 26 October 2023.
- ^ Bailey, Michael (26 October 2023). "Australia's 100 richest people under 40 revealed". AFR.com.
- ^ "Founders of Queensland unicorn Go1 named 2021 Australian Young Entrepreneurs of the Year". Business News Australia.
- ^ "Brisbane Young Entrepreneur Awards" (PDF). Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "2019 Qld Award". The Pearcey Foundation.
- ^ "Top 20 Under 40: QLD's young business stars revealed". The Courier Mail.
- ^ Hossain, Hemi (11 March 2021). "Top 100 Digital Entrepreneurs in Australia | You Should Know Them".
External links edit
