Murphy's Law

Friends Reunited has a presence in the national consciousness that other UK companies can only dream of emulating. Such is the power of the brand that most people, from most walks of life and generations, have either heard of the reunion website, registered their details on it or signed up to use one of its services. The site has the eighth largest online presence in the UK and 15 million users – that’s roughly half of all UK adults with internet access.

Those are the kind of figures that make marketing men salivate. At the helm of the enterprise is the affable Michael Murphy, the man responsible for making sure these figures are not just maintained but improved upon – a tough task in the crowded and ever-evolving media internet mélange. ‘Luckily, I’m pretty driven and not afraid of hard work,’ laughs Murphy, acknowledging the challenge he set himself by taking over from the founders of Friends Reunited to become CEO in February 2003.

Since then, he and his team have launched four new services, including Genes Reunited and Friends Reunited Jobs, more than doubled the number of employees and launched or acquired operations around the world. Profits lifted from £1.6 million in 2001 to £4.6 million in 2005. ‘The key to growth in this business is having a firm grip on the numbers. Every morning I look at the figures for how many new users we’ve got the previous day. Then we can react quickly to market changes.

‘There’s no point waiting until a monthly meeting to find this stuff out about your business. We have weekly, and sometimes daily, management meetings. I guess my background has given me a solid commercial awareness and financial understanding.’

Indeed, Murphy’s credentials are impressive and underscore why Friends Reunited is in safe hands. Born in 1965 in Lewisham, southeast London, he says his parents ‘were not at all entrepreneurial, though they were pretty brave.
‘My mum worked in social services, my dad was a lorry driver, and they came over from Ireland at a young age to get jobs, working hard to make ends meet.
‘As a result, I suppose the concept of making an honest living was instilled in me from a young age – I started working a milk round at 11 years old and by 14 had three jobs. At 15, I left school, believing as a young lad that earning money was more important than qualifications. I bought my first car aged 17, paid for with my wages, and my first house aged 19. You could say I realised the benefits of being entrepreneurial quite early on!’

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