EY Expands Its Support of Elite Athletes in Their Transition From Sport to Business Careers

London, 23 February 2017

Building on a successful pilot program with Rio 2016 athletes, EY today announced it will further support male and female elite athletes in their transition from sport to careers in business by providing a range of professional opportunities to qualified candidates. This initiative is part of the organization’s continued commitment to secure top talent, develop purpose-driven leaders and build a better working world for its clients, people and communities.

Nancy Altobello, EY Global Vice Chair – Talent, says:

"At EY, we’re always exploring new and innovative ways to find and retain the best talent. Elite athletes thrive in a culture of high-performing teams, and their perseverance, drive and leadership are all transferable qualities that are incredibly beneficial in business. The skills and experiences they possess will contribute to our purpose of building a better working world."

Through an exclusive collaboration with Athlete Career Transition (ACT) Ltd., an organization that identifies, matches and places athletes in global business environments, EY can help provide elite athletes with professional roles within the organization and the necessary resources to transition from sport into the business work environment. ACT will oversee EY recruitment efforts step by step, first by carefully identifying and screening appropriate current and former athletes around the world. The initial focus will be on athletes who are competing in the British & Irish Lions rugby tour, the National Football League (NFL), the Women’s Rugby World Cup, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Steve Moore, ACT Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, says:

"The same dedication athletes use to reach the top of their game in sport can be applied in professional business settings, and we’re committed to maximizing this by working closely with each athlete to ensure a smooth transition into their new careers at EY."

In 2016, the EY Women Athletes Business Network (WABN) explored the connection between sport and leadership with an experimental pilot program, hiring nine female Rio 2016 competitors from six countries as interns. The Rio interns received leading-class workplace experience and mentoring throughout the six-month internship, and in turn made positive contributions to their teams. In fact, several of the Rio interns will join EY as full-time hires in 2017.

Altobello says: "The success of the EY Rio 2016 intern program demonstrates the tremendous opportunity our organization, as well as others, have to harness the leadership potential of elite athletes. We’re thrilled to collaborate with ACT to realize this potential and support the talented male and female athletes as they make their foray into business careers at EY."

EY and ACT anticipate the first wave of newly hired elite athletes will start at EY in the summer of 2017.

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Notes to Editors

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by EYGM Limited, a member of the global EY organization that also does not provide any services to clients.

About Athlete Career Transition (ACT)

In 2011, former Welsh International Rugby Union professionals, and brothers, Steve and Andy Moore, in partnership with five-time gold medal-winning Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave, founded a truly unique company named Athlete Career Transition (ACT). Having been through the difficult transition process personally, their mission became to assist the transition of elite athletes smoothly and safely from sport into meaningful careers in business.

ACT are global experts in career transition for elite athletes, and over the past six years have built a trusted reputation and successful track record of working with many truly remarkable elite athletes, including Olympians and Paralympians, supporting them through their sporting retirement and transitioning them into appropriate business environments.

ACT work closely with a variety of business partners to match and integrate athletes into suitable positions across a range of UK and global businesses. This is achieved through a combination of structured work placement opportunities, personal development identification and transition support programs.

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