Ian Birkby

Ian Birkby
Personal information
Full nameIan Birkby
Bornthird quarter 1961 (age 63–64)
Pontefract, England
Playing information
PositionStand-off
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1979–83 Castleford 46 13 38 1 116
1983–86 Oldham 36+9 10 0 1 41
1985–86 York
1986–88 Doncaster 34 2 6 0 20
Total 125 25 44 2 177
Source: [1]

Ian Birkby (born in September, 1961) is a technology CEO, Ph.D. and former professional rugby league footballer who played as a stand-off in the 1970s and 1980s.[1][2][3][4] Presently, he is the chief executive officer of AZoNetwork.[5]

He played at club level for Castleford, Oldham, York and Doncaster.[6]

Sporting career

Whilst studying at university, Birkby played as a professional rugby player representing Castleford at scrum half from 1980 to 1983 before moving to Oldham RLFC with a brief stint at York RLFC before finishing his career at Doncaster.[7]

He returned to playing rugby union in his thirties. However, he was prevented from playing for amateur team Wilmslow RUFC in the 1990s. This was due to a rule between the rugby league and the English Rugby Football Union which prevented professional players of the 13-man code from playing the amateur 15 a-side game.[8]

Technology career

Birkby headed Dynamic-Ceramic prior to its sale in 1997.[9] He founded AZoM in 2001.[10] In 2016, AZoNetwork was listed by BRW as one of the 100 fastest growing companies in Australia.[11] The company announced in October 2019 that it would be listing in a reverse IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2020.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ David Smart & Andrew Howard (1 July 2000). "Images of Sport - Castleford Rugby League - A Twentieth Century History". The History Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0752418957
  3. ^ "Castleford RLFC A to Z Player List (All Time)". 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Statistics at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk". 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Meet the Team - AZoNetwork - Marketing Science". AZoNetwork. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Statistics at robterrace.com". robterrace.com. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  7. ^ Ian Birkby Rugby League Project
  8. ^ "Old wounds and diehards". The Independent. 14 November 1993.
  9. ^ "6 Years of Consecutive Growth for Scientific Marketing Specialist AZoNetwork". Manchester Digital. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  10. ^ "About Us - AZoNetwork - Marketing Science". AZoNetwork. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  11. ^ BRW fast 100 2016 Australian Financial Review 16 November 2016
  12. ^ Manchester based SaaS firm to list on Australian Stock Exchange Prolific North 29 October 2019