Brad Moran (footballer)
Bradley Moran (born 29 September 1986 in England) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. Since 2011, when he retired as an AFL player, Moran has worked in business, founding two startup technology companies, NoQ in 2011 and CitrusAd in 2017. CitrusAd was acquired in July 2021 by French company Publicis for a reported $205 million. Early life. Born in Solihull in the West Midlands of England to English parents, his 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 Rules with the Surfers Paradise AFC juniors, where he was mentored by former Brisbane Bears captain Roger Merrett. He took to the game quickly and developed a passion for it. His high school, The Southport School had a policy against Australian Football being part of its curriculum, so he had to remain  playing club football and instead also played rowing and basketball at school. Moran quickly showed ability and talent in the ruck. He broke his wrist leading up to the Under 18 national championships, which set back his recruitment. However, after playing football with the Southport Sharks, at age 18 he was recruited to the elite level by the Kangaroos Football Club in the 2004 AFL draft. AFL career. Wearing the number 18 guernsey, previously worn by Wayne Carey, Moran made his debut in 2006 against Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium. He played an effective game in one of the Roos' worst  performances of the season. He collected 21 disposals, 10 marks and 10 hitouts, which earned a nomination for the AFL Rising Star Award. He continued his good form into next week against Collingwood, where the Roos were comprehensively beaten in the second half. Moran was traded to the Adelaide Football Club at the end of the 2007 Premiership season. He took up the number 2 guernsey, which was also previously worn by Carey during his brief stint at the Crows. After injuries ruined the first half of his 2008 season, he played his first game for the Crows in round  16 and impressed as a tall defender and ruckman, thereafter becoming a fixture in the lineup. When moved into the forward line against Carlton in round 18 to cover the loss of Jason Porplyzia, Moran booted four goals for the game to help the Crows to an eight-point victory, thus adding another string to his bow as a utility. In 2009 Moran quickly became a regular in the Adelaide side, forming a ruck combination with Ivan Maric. However, midway through the season he injured his knee, which would keep him out for the remainder of the season. Moran announced  his retirement on 31 August 2011 after ongoing injuries. International qualification. In 2008, although Moran was eligible to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Australian Football International Cup (the criteria at the time allowed him to as he had moved to Australia as a teenager), he was deliberately overlooked by the national team because he did not learn the game in England. However Moran is keen to see the sport grow in his former home and is an ambassador for Aussie Rules International, appearing in an England Dragonslayers guernsey for its junior league promotions. Post-AFL career running startup technology  businesses. When announcing his retirement from the Adelaide Crows, Moran launched a startup technology business called NoQ (pronounced no queue), which offered a smartphone application that allowed the user to dodge the queue by pre-ordering 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 Hungry Jack's and Noodle Box, but 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. In June  2020, CitrusAd announced it had secured an investment of more AU6.5 million from venture capital firm Moelis Australia (part of Moelis & Company) to fund international growth. At the time, CitrusAd reported it had signed clients including Coles Group, Woolworths, Groupon and Dan Murphy's. In mid-2020, Moran announced CitrusAd had signed new international clients including Groupon in the US and Sainsbury's in the UK. In April 2021, CitrusAd reported that US retailer Target Corporation had integrated directly with the company’s digital ad platform. In July 2021, French company Publicis Groupe announced it had acquired CitrusAd for an undisclosed  amount. Moran continues to hold a senior executive role at CitrusAd under its new owner. In October 2021, the "Australian Financial Review" reported that Publicis had paid $205 million for CitrusAd. In December 2021, Moran won the Digital Disruptor award in the 2021 Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards. In a Forbes magazine article on February 28, 2022 Retail Media Networks Are One Of The Most Important Trends Of 2022, But They Need To Evolve, Moran is quoted as predicting that 2022 would see retailers and brands extend their knowledge of how in-store shelf placement affects sales to online brand  placement and how it affects not just online purchasing, but also in-store behavior.