Retiring Athletes Given Career Boost

(ATR) The Olympic Games will continue to be a life-changing experience for eight young women long after the cauldron is extinguished, thanks to the EY Women Athletes Business Network (WABN) Intern Program.

The Intern Program was launched in Rio at the Olympians Reunion Centre (ORC) by EY on Friday and is designed to help retiring elite athletes transition into business after sport.

The WABN, which already runs a mentoring program connecting athletes with successful businesswomen, is leading by example, welcoming the young athletes into EY offices around the world.

"Olympians, while the best in the world at their chosen discipline, often need support in making a successful transition into business," said Global Vice-Chair, Nancy Altobello.

"Their extreme focus, discipline, perseverance and teamwork are all incredibly transferable skills that we want at EY. We have every confidence that the female athletes selected will thrive in our culture of high performance teaming, using the skills and expertise they have gained from playing elite sport to help us in our purpose of building a better world through sport."

The eight athletes come from six countries and a range of sports, and will undertake a six month paid internship in EY offices around the world starting in October 2016.

"I think it is a really great opportunity to transfer the skills I have learned in rowing," triple Olympic rowing medalist Kim Brennan said.

"I can do something new in a new area and see how much I can learn and how easily I can adapt to the working world. In a team environment, like a rowing team, you learn how to get the most out of the people around you by communicating openly and honestly. We work hard and we are time efficient and I think all of these skills, we cultivate over a long period of time in sport and we you can take them into the corporate world.

"What I truly value about EY is that it has taken a real initiative with the WABN Intern Program with ACT and is doing something that no other company is doing. A lot of businesses talk about valuing gender equity and say they focus on striving for excellence but they don’t change or do anything different. EY is actually doing something positive about it and that’s what I love – its ability to think outside the box and create something unique."

Throughout the Rio Games, numerous events have been held at the ORC promoting the value of employing athletes in business, something championed by the President of the World Olympians Association, Joel Bouzou. Brothers Steve and Andy Moore made this their business, founding Athlete Career Transition (ACT) after they both retired from professional rugby union in Wales.

"We are so glad that EY had the vision to undertake this project and take a leap of faith with us," Steve Moore said. "They are fantastic Olympians and fantastic role models."

The athletes chosen for the EY WABN Intern Program are:

Bronte Barratt (Australia) – Swimming

Kim Brennan (Australia) – Rowing

Isabel Swan (Brazil) – Sailing

Janne Müller-Wieland (Germany) – Field Hockey

Olivia Carnegie-Brown (Great Britain) – Rowing

Wianka van Dorp (The Netherlands) – Rowing

Grace Luczak (United States of America) – Rowing

Nzingha Prescod (United States of America) – Fencing

Written by Alice Wheeler in Rio de Janeiro.

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