Professional cricketer Nathan Buck ‘bowls over’ new firm Force24

Northamptonshire seam bowler Nathan Buck has swapped his cricket whites for office attire after becoming one of five new business development representatives to join marketing automation platform Force24.

The professional sportsman – who was England’s leading wicket-taker at the 2010 Under-19 World Cup – has further bolstered the Yorkshire-headquartered firm’s 54-strong workforce.

Joining Nathan in the same job role are Sophia Lenik, James Kelvin, Ellea Crompton and Jeremy Smith. The quintet of new recruits will be tasked with generating new leads for the organisation’s business development managers.

“It’s important to prepare for a life after cricket especially in the uncertain times we’re faced with today,” said Nathan who will continue his sports career alongside Force24.

“Cricket is a very short career – it could end at any moment. So, while I’m still fully committed to my club, my business development experience will prove to be invaluable for a life after the sport.”

Following a strong run in this year’s T20 Blast championships – where Northants were knocked out in the quarter finals by Gloucestershire – Nathan and his team-mates have been back in the East Midlands for winter training to prepare for a potential summer of cricket.

And in the meantime – despite admitting to Googling “97 marketing automation words and abbreviations” – Nathan has settled in well to his new, off-the-field surroundings.

“It’s been a fantastic welcome so far and the team is really supportive in a world that is poles apart from cricket,” he added. “With the way the economy is going – and seeing more businesses adopt smart technology solutions – the future of Force24 is only going to get bigger, better and much busier!”

Established in 2010, Force24 is an award-winning, multichannel marketing automation platform firm based in Leeds. It helps over 4,000 marketers from B2B and B2C brands – including JML, Npower and Children in Need – to deliver marketing emails to customers.

On-boarding the quintet of new arrivals, Force24 sales director Brett James is excited about the future, commenting: “It’s fantastic to have Nathan with us. He and all the recruits have really got stuck into what’s required, in a short space of time. They’ve shown invaluable levels of professionalism during a truly challenging climate for all businesses.”

Brett added: “We’re preparing ourselves for major growth throughout the UK and overseas, and plan to invest further in our technology so we can roll-out more intuitive features.

“The new additions will be playing a huge role in our expansion too as we continue to help hundreds of marketers from B2B and B2C brands deliver effective, ultra-personalised digital customer comms.”