Munster Rugby wakes up to a new dawn this morning with Enda Lynch and Doug Howlett both confirmed in new roles within the organisation.
Lynch, who has served as Head of Commercial and Marketing for five years since joining from O2 is taking on an exciting new brief as Head of Enterprise and heading up a brand new programme linking Munster Rugby’s values and leadership skills with the University of Limerick to offer high-performance management education for c-suite executives.
Howlett is stepping up to take on the Commercial and Marketing role in which he has been involved as ambassador and manager since hanging up his boots at Thomond.
Both men will report to Munster Rugby CEO Garrett Fitzgerald.
The changes take effect on Friday morning, September 1st said Lynch speaking to Sport for Business last night.
“Munster has long held a special place in the minds of Ireland’s business community as a collective where high levels of performance are generated from the ground up through a very special adherence to values and resilience.”
“It used to be that high achievers in a business environment could plan with confidence from year to year but in a world where the pace of change is accelerating rapidly, resilience and the ability to handle new developing challenges is becoming a core competency.”
“That has always been the case in sport where different outcomes happen second by second and controlling their impact to your advantage is the difference between winning and losing.”
“Translating the skills learned in that environment for top line business leaders is an area we have been looking at over time and we are ready now to make our move.
“The courses we will offer will be highly intensive residential sessions within small groups of similarly placed leaders. We will be using the support structures available through our partnership with the University of Limerick and involving our own natural born leaders like Jerry Flannery and the playing team to deliver core parts of the programme.”
“We ran the first session quietly early in the year and the feedback we gained was very strong, enabling us to tailor what will now become a major feature in the landscape of senior executive learning.”
“Over time we will create a network of graduates of the programme to match the influence and reach of our Munster family of supporters down the years. It’s a very exciting project to be part of.”
Lynch has overseen a transformative period of change in the commercial structures at Munster with the benefits to be seen from rises in the number of season ticket holders, young fans and sold out stadia.
New deals involving Bank of Ireland, Adidas, Lifestyle Sports and a wide range of key sponsors are in place and provide a strong platform for Doug Howlett to step up to the next level of his career with the Province.
As a record try scorer for the All Blacks and now a naturalised Irish citizen his rugby pedigree is immaculate. The strides he has made in serving as a link from the playing ethos to the commercial support structure at Munster have been as sure footed as when he was a player and he will be a strong addition to the management ranks in Limerick and across the wider landscape that Munster Rugby covers.
We wish both men well in their new roles and look forward to more exciting developments from the South West in the months and years to come.
Munster Rugby, Trinity College, UCD and Ulster University are among the more than 220 organisations that play an active part of the Sport for Business community.
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