Female Olympians Offered Opportunity to Connect with Top Women in Business

6 | 10 | 2016

Female Olympians seeking to make the transition from sport to successful careers in business and leadership are being invited to apply for the EY Women Athletes Business Network (WABN) 2017 mentoring programme. The programme, which aims to support the career progression of elite female athletes following their retirement from competitive sport, is a joint initiative between the WABN and the International Women’s Forum (IWF). 

The year-long mentorship matches 25 top women athletes with prominent female business leaders in order to develop their potential to become impactful leaders. Mentors are carefully chosen from across the IWF’s network of 6,400 senior women executives who offer one-on-one guidance to the athletes and bridge the gap between business and sport.

The 2016 WABN mentoring class included 13 Olympians from nine different countries, who participated across eight Summer and Winter Olympic sports.

Olympic champion and EY Women Athletes Business Network Lead Advisor, Donna de Varona, said:

“As an Olympian I know from experience the challenges and opportunities involved in translating athletic skills to leadership in the workplace. I urge any elite athlete with a desire to reach new leadership heights outside of competitive sport to apply to this unique program.”

Olympians who are interested in applying can find out more information on the 2017 programme here. The deadline for applying is 2 November 2016.

Now in its third year, the WABN mentoring programme builds on EY’s strong legacy of supporting female athletes by recognising the connection between women, sport and leadership and comes at a time when many athletes are re-assessing their future.

During the Rio 2016 Olympic Games the WOA and EY partnered on several major projects including the Olympians Reunion Centre and Women. Fast Forward, an event which brought together leading figures from sport and business to shine a light on the need for gender equality. During the event IOC President Thomas Bach and WOA President Joël Bouzou both spoke about the Olympic Movement’s strong commitment to advancing and empowering women in sport and leadership.