PROFILE/Fran Rooney: The man whose charisma took him to the top but couldn't stop a calamitous tumble is back in the news, writes Madeleine Lyons.
For a while there, a dotcom shindig couldn't take place in Ireland if Fran Rooney wasn't waiting somewhere in the wings to trot out his evangelical sermon on how to take over the world in five easy moves. Boundless energy and a big personality made this rough Dublin diamond one of the most colourful riders of the high-tech wave.
Then, one day in July 2001, Rooney was finally persuaded to step down as chief executive of the data security company Baltimore Technologies. A 98 per cent collapse in the Dublin firm's share price in the space of seven months had reduced it from a member of the FTSE 100 index to a company forced to cut jobs to survive.
From regular appearances on CNN and Sky News, Rooney disappeared into virtual obscurity. Contrary to sky's-the-limit reports at the timeRooney would probably have walked away with only about €8 million, between stocks and his final pay-off from Baltimore - small change compared with a company worth €6 billion at its peak.
He sits on the boards of a number of technology companies, including that of Addoceo Digital Media, his brother's e-learning company, but those who know him say he had been casting about for the right niche after Baltimore. As a personality who enjoyed the limelight and public success, token consultative roles on the boards of struggling start-up companies wouldn't really mark the apex of Rooney's ambitions.
In the meantime, he threw himself into the renovation of his home in Castleknock, which he shares with his wife, Mary, and their three children. A lavish project by all accounts, "Nirvana" has been variously described as an eyesore, over the top and palatial. It is clear Rooney brought the same exuberance and attention to detail to this project that he does to most things.
The design included a gym, a bar, several plasma TVs, a games room and - in an apparent Hollywood touch - a panic room, it is understood the indoor swimming pool was tiled by a mosaic artist flown in from England. The house, which ran massively over budget, is heavily influenced by ideas Rooney picked up on his travels with Baltimore.
He has also taken up kick-boxing very seriously and is now a keen golfer at the K Club, in Co Kildare.
A bon viveur who borders on the flashy, Rooney has always said he wants to enjoy the fruits of his labours now rather than wait until it is too late. This probably stems from his modest beginnings in Ringsend and, later, Cabra, where hours spent playing football on the street nurtured a passion - and huge talent - for sport.
Although he played with Home Farm, Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians, Rooney felt he didn't have the skills to become a professional, and at the time was more interested in having a good job.
Recognising his leadership skills, Rooney took to coaching - and became friends with Brian Kerr when they attended coaching seminars together. His closest friends remain those from his footballing days. For six years he coached the Republic of Ireland's women's soccer team with considerable success.
After completing his Leaving Cert at CBS Westland Row, in 1974, he took up a job in the finance end of An Post and started to study by night. He says he remembers his first day at An Post clearly because it was the day Ireland beat Russia 3-0 at Dalymount Park, and he couldn't witness it.
Training as a chartered accountant by night, Rooney worked his way through several government departments and National Irish Bank, then set up Meridian International, a VAT processing company. Here he developed a taste for structuring high-growth businesses. Teaming up with the financier Dermot Desmond, he restructured Quay Financial Software, which was quickly sold on to CSK Ireland, part of a Japanese computer-services company, for £20 million (€25 million) in 1995. He then joined Desmond's International Investments & Underwriting, where he began investigating emerging-technology opportunities and fell upon data security.
With more than 50 per cent backing from Desmond, he and other investors, bought Baltimore for £300,000 (€381,000) in 1996. Rooney brought all his skills as a sports leader to bear in making vision, inspiration and teamwork the hub of Baltimore's operations.
One story from this time probably best illustrates Rooney's can-do spirit. Baltimore brought 10 of the company's then 15-strong workforce to the 1998 RSA Data Security Conference in California, the annual showcase for data-security aficionados. A huge stand and logo-emblazoned shirts made the company highly visible on the conference floor. Baltimore also invited all the delegates to a pre-conference party in a hotel suite hired for about $500, with a bar stocked by drinks the 10 employees had bought duty-free en route. Friends recruited for the evening were instructed to keep Baltimore's competitors busy at the bar, so potential business partners and customers could be led away to network with water-drinking Baltimore employees.
Rooney remembers: "We made so many contacts at that party, for the next four or five days we knew people everywhere we went. On a basic budget of $800 we managed to create a huge network."
Another coup Rooney engineered was for Baltimore's technology to be used by Bill Clinton and Bertie Ahern when they digitally signed an e-commerce agreement in 1998.
Broad shouldered and regularly dressed in a dark suit and collarless shirt, Rooney became easily identifiable in an otherwise bland industry. Always happy to send himself up in the interests of boosting spirits, he turned up dressed as one of the Blues Brothers for Baltimore's annual conference in 2000, in Florida. At the Dublin celebrations of Baltimore's NASDAQ listing, Rooney sang his own version of Dean Martin's That's Amore, which he rechristened Baltimoreay.
This spirit of fun engendered perhaps unrivalled loyalty from his workforce, making Rooney the personality at the heart of a company that, at its height, employed 1,400 people around the world.
Rooney's departure marked a public humiliation that many industry observers felt he didn't deserve. Those associated with Baltimore at the time described him as the heart and soul of the company. "Bright", "able", "driven", "sociable" and a "fantastic salesman" were regular descriptions. Ultimately, Baltimore and Rooney became victims of their success. The company had an air of invincibility that industry observers felt couldn't be justified by its generic product. Rooney's detractors say he can be confrontational and reluctant to act on other viewpoints.
According to one source who had dealings with Rooney just before his departure from Baltimore: "He struck you as a guy capable of remaining calm under pressure. Even though he had lots going on in the background, he always listened to advice and never lost the head. Then he'd go away and come back with his final decision."
As his fortunes turned, Rooney drew people around him and expected them to continue to be loyal.
Rooney is understood to have thrown his hat into the ring for the Football Association of Ireland job about four weeks ago, after being encouraged by a number of people involved in Irish football. Sources say he expects the new role to be a labour of love, although he had to think long and hard about re-entering the public eye.
A former associate believes the appointment of Rooney as chief executive is a coup for the FAI. "He has lots of football savvy, but the real strength is in his business-market savvy." The FAI, which operates from Merrion Square in Dublin, can look forward to a media-polished chief executive - which should make a pleasant change - who is capable of talking in attractive sound bites, ad nauseam.
More critically, the FAI's internal structures and management are badly in need of an overhaul, as outlinedby the Genesis report. A quick implementer with strong skills in restructuring small, ailing entities, Rooney will almost certainly make a number of high-profile senior appointments to form the core of his all-important team.
Expect the FAI to sport a shiny new professional image - and maybe even say goodbye to board-of-management meetings at remote venues such as the Red Cow Inn, on the Naas Road in Dublin.
Rooney's strengths lie in his ability to inspire, his passion for what he does and his competitiveness. The FAI is likely to be introduced to buzzwords such as "business objectives", "cultural change" and "business process implementation".
Rooney made a point of going to Lansdowne Road last Sunday for the second semi-final of the Heineken Cup, between Leinster and Perpignan, where he stood on the terraces. It's understood he is keen that the latest proposals for an IRFU-FAI stadium be well received and the new facility be built as soon as possible.
Fran Rooney's first FAI press conference: see SportsSaturday, page 2