Infor Announces Four-Year Partnership with the Crusaders

Infor Announces Four-Year Partnership with the Crusaders and Names First Recipient of the Infor University Rugby Scholarship

Sponsorship of world’s most iconic non-international professional rugby team reinforces Infor’s commitment to New Zealand, Christchurch and local communities

NEW ZEALAND, CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday 12 February, 2015 – Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 73,000 customers, today announced an exciting partnership with the most successful team in Super Rugby history, the Crusaders. Along with this partnership, Infor unveiled the Infor University Rugby Scholarship and named its first recipient Matt Morrison – a high performer handpicked by the Crusaders for his potential and achievements in rugby and academics.

Infor’s Managing Director for the Pacific region, Jo-Anne Ruhl, said at a breakfast sponsorship launch today that the company is delighted to be supporting one of New Zealand’s most prominent and successful rugby teams.

“This partnership with the Crusaders reflects our commitment to being actively involved in the future of Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region. It is one way we can continue to show our support for the city, the region and the rebuild of the city following the devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011,” says Jo-Anne. “The Crusaders are an integral part of the fabric of the Canterbury community and this partnership further cements our commitment to supporting the future of rugby and of Christchurch. In this regard, we are very proud to kick off the inaugural Infor University Rugby Scholarship that will support in part the University fees for Matt Morrison, and help shape another promising Crusaders star of the future.”

The Infor University Rugby Scholarship is the first naming rights sponsored university scholarship that the Crusaders have offered. Matt Morrison belongs to the 2015 intake of theCrusaders Academy and is looking to make his mark by being selected for the 2015 Canterbury U19 team, with the ultimate goal of making the New Zealand U20 team in 2016 and cutting out a future in professional rugby. He is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Canterbury.

In addition to naming rights to one of the Crusaders’ university scholarships, the four-year partnership will see the Crusaders bearing Infor’s logo on their jerseys, as well as marketing and brand visibility.

“Infor’s partnership with local businesses and communities extends to world-class, leading New Zealand brands. Customers such as ANZCO Foods, AW Fraser and Synlait Milk rely on Infor’s enterprise software solutions to help them stay ahead of the game and be champions in their fields,” Jo-Anne adds.

Chief Executive Officer of the Crusaders, Hamish Riach, is excited to welcome Infor into the Crusaders’ family of partners.

"This is a major new partnership for the Crusaders and one we are very excited about. Infor is a significant global company with an excellent reputation in the business community. While Infor is a global brand, it has a strong presence locally and this partnership is evidence of its dedication to this region and its understanding of the challenges that the business community here continues to face.

"There are a number of synergies between Infor and the Crusaders, including a commitment to innovation, a proud history of success and the aim of being a leading force in our respective fields. Our team will be proud to wear the Infor brand in 2015.”

The Crusader’s commitment to being the best, yet always striving to do better, parallels Infor’s value proposition. Infor is an innovative and customer-centric player in the enterprise software space. By designing beautiful business applications with proven functionalities, Infor helps to deliver results for numerous industries around the globe.

New Zealand offers vast opportunities for Asia Pacific and global companies to set up manufacturing and distribution operations in the country. With a well-developed infrastructure and supportive business environment, New Zealand plays a key role in helping achieve Infor’s long-term growth in the Pacific and globally.

Tim Moylan, President, Infor Asia Pacific Japan & Middle East, say, “Just as athletes strive to win the game, we strive to be victorious in helping customers build better enterprises by providing them with beautiful, purpose-built business applications. Infor CloudSuite for example, has deep industry functionalities and a flexible, subscription-based delivery model that significantly reduces upfront IT expenditure. In a high-performance corporate culture such as ours, teamwork and a constant pursuit of excellence is key to winning - a trait we recognise is shared by the Crusaders and our customers.”

The partnership deal is effective from 2015 and is the start of an exciting and momentous chapter in the continuing evolution and success of Infor and the Crusaders.

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