For our next meetup, we’ll be learning about digital transformation in a sector that we haven’t explored before as a community, but that is certainly close to the hearts of many Australians — sport. Our speaker is Rory Furness, Head of Data & Governance for the West Coast Eagles. Rory will be sharing an honest, first-hand account of the West Coast Eagles' digital journey, from humble beginnings to a data-driven, member-first organisation. This session will explore the club’s approach to technology adoption, digital fan engagement, and operational innovation. Rory will cover the key phases of that journey: early infrastructure and CRM foundations, the move into Perth Stadium and Mineral Resources Park, the post-COVID realignment of their data and MarTech plans, and the current work around Microsoft Fabric, AI agents and unified fan identity. The session is less about the technology itself and more about the practical lessons, trade-offs and cultural shifts that come with delivering transformation inside one organisation over a long period. There will be time for questions and discussion after the presentation, followed by networking over drinks and pizzas. Registration is essential, and we hope to see many new and familiar faces on 24 June! \-\-\- *Thank you to our supporters who make these events possible: our venue supporter [Spacecubed](https://spacecubed.com/), and our principal sponsor [Rmkble](https://rmkble.com.au/?utm_source=meetup&utm_medium=event-page-june&utm_campaign=dtp-sponsorship-2026), the home of JourneyOne, ProcessPath and DataDivers.* \-\-\- **Meet our speaker:** **Rory Furness** *Head of Data & Governance, West Coast Eagles* Rory is a data and technology leader with close to three decades of experience across the UK and Australia, the last 18 spent at the West Coast Eagles — where he has grown alongside the club from a two-person IT team to leading data engineering, governance and AI strategy today. As Head of Data & Governance, Rory is responsible for the club's cloud data platform, MarTech ecosystem and emerging AI capability — spanning Microsoft Fabric, Azure, Dynamics 365 / SportsRM, Braze, Power BI and Microsoft 365 Copilot. His current focus is building a governed, AI-ready data foundation that lifts fan engagement, commercial value and on-field performance for one of the AFL's most followed clubs. Previously Head of Technology for both the West Coast Eagles and the Waalitj Foundation, Rory has led the club's major technology transitions — from the move into Perth Stadium, to the Mineral Resources Park fit-out at Lathlain, to the rollout of an enterprise-wide data and AI strategy. In addition to a range of Microsoft and industry certifications over the years, he holds a Master of Network Technology from Edith Cowan University.