Sport and business united today when Moving Ahead’s, CEO Liz Dimmock was invited to officially open the market at the London Stock Exchange with Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson DBE.
The Market Open ceremony was a chance for mentors on Moving Ahead’s life-changing Athlete-to-Business mentoring scheme to hear from business and sports leaders including Tim Jones, Group Head of HR at London Stock Exchange Group, multiple Paralympic wheelchair racing champion Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson DBE and Pam Relph MBE, double Paralympic rowing champion.
Moving Ahead, a specialist diversity and mentoring organisation, works across sport and business to enable individuals and organisations achieve their potential. This scheme, managed in collaboration with the English Institute of Sport, helps elite athletes transition out of sport and into the workplace. The Athlete-to-Business scheme helps organisations recognise and take advantage of their unique skillset. This year, 70 current and retired athletes have been matched to be mentored by senior leaders from major businesses including London Stock Exchange Group, Deloitte, Santander, and PwC. These pairs are being guided by mentoring experts at Moving Ahead through a twelve-month programme.
Liz Dimmock, CEO and founder of Moving Ahead and Women Ahead said: "It is an honour to open the market at the London Stock Exchange today. This exciting celebration of business in the heart of the City is the perfect way to demonstrate how we can connect sport and business, to create positive change for our talented athletes. Like business leaders, athletes demonstrate commitment to excellence, exceptional teamwork and resilience under pressure. We’re thrilled that LSEG is championing the first-of-its kind Athlete-to-Business Mentoring Scheme.”
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, multiple Paralympic Champion spoke at the event about the importance of a duty of care to our athletes as they transition out of sport. She said: “The Athlete-to-Business mentoring programme gives athletes the focused attention they deserve after dedicating their lives to competing for the nation. The mentors have the unparalleled opportunity of seeing life from the perspective of an elite athlete. Both mentors and mentees have a fantastic chance to learn and grow.”
Tim Jones, Group Head of HR at London Stock Exchange Group said: “At LSEG we are fully committed to providing opportunities and support for our colleague’s personal and professional development. Furthermore, we recognise a broad, diverse and high performing team is essential to deliver the best possible outcomes for our customers. We are not just committed to equal opportunity and personal development in the work place but also to actively challenge both ourselves and others to develop talent outside of the organisation. We are proud to be partnering with Moving Ahead to assist with the transition of athletes to the next chapter in their personal development journey.”
The Moving Ahead A2B programme is managed in collaboration with the English Institute of Sport Performance Lifestyle Team and leverages Moving Ahead’s specialism in mentoring and the detailed knowledge and expertise of the Performance Lifestyle Advisors. It gives athletes an opportunity to plan for their futures whether they are planning on competing at Tokyo 2020 or have already transitioned into work. It continues the work of the Athlete Futures jobs fair organised by Moving Ahead in 2016 on behalf of UK Sport, the EIS, the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA).
Companies and sports organisations that would like to find out more about the scheme can contact Monica Relph at Women Ahead on 01491 579726 or monica@women-ahead.org.
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Notes to Editors
1. The Athlete-to-Business mentoring scheme has been designed by Moving Ahead, a specialist diversity and mentoring organisation that focuses on the development of leaders in sport and business. Moving Ahead and its sister organisation Women Ahead design and deliver global mentoring programmes, specialist workshops, keynote events and research programmes. www.women-ahead.org
2. In 2014, only 0.4% of commercial sports sponsorship went to women. Female sports received just 5% of media coverage. UK sporting boards were heavily led by men, with just 22% of roles taken by women. There were six governing sports bodies with no female representation at all.
3. Watch here for a two-minute video about Women Ahead and Moving Ahead.
Press enquiries to Timma Marett at timma@moving-ahead.org or on 07901 682219.