Business

‘The Irish Times’ Business Person of the Month: Garry Moroney

CEO of Clavis Insight, which was sold to Ascential for €100m, is a serial tech entrepreneur

Fri Jan 12 2018 - 06:00

Clavis Insight chief executive Garry Moroney is the recipient of The Irish Times Business Person of the Month Award, in association with KPMG, for December.

Moroney is a serial tech entrepreneur who became known to the public when Similarity Systems, the company he co-founded with Brian Caulfield was sold to Informatica for $55 million in 2006.

He hit the jackpot again late last month with the sale of Clavis to Ascential (formerly EMAP) for an initial cash consideration of $119 million (€100 million). The total potential consideration however, which includes earn out payments, is capped at $219 million.

Founded in Dublin in 2008 by Moroney, Clavis Insight employs about 170 people, including 100 in Dublin.

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The company has developed proprietary technology that enables firms in the consumer goods space to automatically perform an online in-store audit of its products. Customers include many of the world's largest consumer product giants, including Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Mondelez and and L'Oréal.

Ascential is paying top dollar for Clavis but it expects big things from the firm given the high levels of recurring revenues it earns. The company has forecast sales of $17 million last year with the firm expecting to break even in 2018.

Garry and other senior managers will be remaining with Clavis through 2020 to see the integration of the company with Ascential’s One Click Retail business and will run the new joint entity from Dublin.

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