Deloitte partners with Olympics Association on networking events

As the focus on supporting elite athletes in their post-sporting career transitions continues to grow, Deloitte has partnered with the Australian Olympians Association to host alumni networking events.

Professional services firm Deloitte has partnered with the Australian Olympians Association to provide opportunities for Australian Olympians to connect and build their professional networks via a series of themed events to be hosted across the country.

The initiative is the latest in the professional services firm’s association with the Olympic movement both globally and within Australia, including as an official partner of the Australian Olympians Association.

“This is a partnership with purpose which aligns to our global ambition to support athletes develop their careers and the ideals of the Olympic movement,” said Deloitte deputy chairman John Greig, lead client service partner for Brisbane 2032.

“The opportunity to host Australian Olympians Association events in our Deloitte offices also gives us the chance to brush shoulders with these exceptional athletes – people who have represented our country at the highest level.”

The Australian Olympians Association – previously a state-based network of Olympians Clubs – was formed as a merged national entity in 2021 to enable greater country-wide collaboration, after the concept initially arose in Victoria following the last Tokyo Games in 1964. The objective of the organisation is to provide Olympians with meaningful opportunities to connect and support the delivery of AOC programs in the areas of career development and well-being.

“It’s been a very good twelve months for our refreshed Australian Olympians Association with many activities across Australia leading to this partnership with Deloitte,” said former Olympic long jumper David Culbert, co-chair of the AOA alongside hockey gold medallist Louise Dobson. “The support from Deloitte will assist Olympians to discover their skills as well as benefit from the wisdom of those successful in areas beyond the sporting field.”

Deloitte was last year named as a global top-tier partner of the IOC over the next decade, with the firm to provide strategic and digital consulting support through to the 2032 Brisbane Games. Since then, Deloitte’s Australian branch has continued to deepen its relationship with the Australian Olympians Association, including recent support in devising Paralympics Australia’s long-term strategy plan.

Meanwhile, former CEO Cindy Hook has also taken up the chief executive role for the Brisbane Olympics.

“We couldn’t be more proud to be an Olympic partner, a partner of the Australian Olympians Association, and a partner of this event series,” stated Deloitte sports practice lead Sandra Sweeney at a kick-off event hosted in Canberra for a group of female former Olympians, which included among others Sarah Cook, Stephanie Magiros, Melissa Breen, Taylah O’Neill, and Deloitte’s very own Olympian alumni and director pair Lisa Walton and Carmen Klomp-Wearne.

“To have these events and be able to come along and meet women who have been there before across all different industries, and to be able to talk to them, get advice, and have a mentor within an industry that you want to go into, it’s super important,” O’Neill said on the day, with Breen adding, “I think it’s important to be really proud of what you’ve done. Here, you talk to people at an event and you never know what those connections can create.”