Polytag CEO Alice Rackley pays tribute to John Purdy as entrepreneur passes away at 63

Alice Rackley, CEO at recycling technology specialist Polytag, has taken to social media to pay tribute to John Purdy, an entrepreneur who has died just a day after completing the sale of Ergo, an Irish IT services business he co-founded in 1993 and where he was non-executive chairman.

In a LinkedIn post, Rackley said: “John Purdy backed me. He backed Polytag. He was our first angel investor back in 2022 and became a board advisor when we closed our VC backed seed round in 2024.”

She added: “Often he was challenging: a straight talking businessman who pulled no punches. But I knew he wanted success for our team. And I expected to be able to benefit from his experience, his perspective and his belief in me as Polytag scales, for many years to come.”

She concluded: “Such a shock to hear that at just 63 - and having achieved a huge milestone for his own business Ergo only days ago - he is no longer with us. Sending out tonnes of love to the Irish tech community and those in the wider world who will also be feeling this loss. And particularly to his family who he spoke of with such affection and pride.”

Pudry is survived by his wife Audrey, and sons Conor and Kian. Staff at Ergo were told the news in the wake of US investor Presidio completing an acquisition of the business for an estimated €100 million.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Green retail will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.