Ian Birkby (born in September, 1961) is a technology CEO, Ph.D. and former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1970s and 1980s.David Smart & Andrew Howard (1 July 2000). "Images of Sport - Castleford Rugby League - A Twentieth Century History". The History Press Ltd. Presently, he is the chief executive officer of AZoNetwork.
He played at club level for Castleford, Oldham, York and Doncaster.
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.Ian Birkby Rugby League Project
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.
Technology career Birkby headed Dynamic-Ceramic prior to its sale in 1997. He founded AZoM in 2001. In 2016, AZoNetwork was listed by BRW as one of the 100 fastest growing companies in Australia.BRW fast 100 2016 Australian Financial Review 16 November 2016 The company announced in October 2019 that it would be listing in a reverse IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2020.Manchester based SaaS firm to list on Australian Stock Exchange Prolific North 29 October 2019
References
External links (archived by web.archive.org) Statistics at orl-heritagetrust.org.uk Do I not like that… / Hypocrisy has to end: David Hinchliffe MP explains why he has introduced a Bill to stop rugby union discriminating against the league code Profile at azonetwork.com Ian Birkby - Rugby League Summary Old wounds and diehards AZoNetwork - Meet the team About us - AZoNetwork