Global webinar
International Women’s Day
The corporate athlete: Lessons learnt
We are delighted to share with you our global International Women’s Day webinar recording.
Nothing unites communities and ignites nationalistic pride quite like sport. Post the global pandemic – we have witnessed the resurgence of crowd and spectator support on the world stage, particularly in relation to women’s sport.
Professional athletes are often celebrities in their own rights and idolised by fans of all ages. Their attributes of sheer grit, dedication, resilience and determination set them apart from the rest of the population. However, for many professional athletes, the punishing years of training, commitment and competing take their toll and many opt to change direction and move into the corporate world. For most, this means transitioning from being an overachieving athlete, to starting at the bottom of their new careers.
In recognition of International Women’s Day 2023, Taylor Root’s Sarah Ingwersen spoke with a panel of former professional athletes who have made this transition – facing challenges along the way, but ultimately excelling in their new careers, due in large part to the qualities they developed during their respective sporting careers.
The panel consisted of:
- Jasmine Titmuss
Former international cricket player
Now Corporate Functions Recruitment, APAC at JP Morgan & Chase Co - Joanna Fargus OLY
Former Olympic swimmer and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist
Now Internal Communications Manager at PEXA - Jonny Searle MBE
Former Olympic gold medallist rower
Now Executive Coach at The Professional Career Partnership (previously in-house lawyer)
All three panellists shared stories of their experiences as professional athletes and the eventual transitions they made into the corporate world. Jasmine and Joanna highlighted the attributes they adopted during their times as full-time athletes that have enabled them to excel as within their respective workplaces, whilst Jonny discussed the importance of male allyship in our continued efforts to reach full gender equality both on and off the sporting arena.
Our panel joined us live from Melbourne, Hong Kong and London and ended in an insightful Q&A.
Speakers
Joanna Fargus
Internal Communications Manager at PEXA | Melbourne
Olympic swimmer
Jo Fargus is a former Olympic swimmer, two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist, and communications professional with 15 years of agency and in-house experience. She has worked across the spectrum of the corporate world, including Banking, Real Estate, Insurance, Law and Tech. She is currently the Employee Communications Manager for PEXA, a prop-tech company based in Melbourne.
Jo is extremely passionate about implementing programs to engage employees in a positive and value-based culture, and finds satisfaction in being able to align the needs of employees with a company’s purpose, vision, values and behaviours. Throughout her career, she has also been passionate about helping employees feel valued and connected, which has been reflected through her heavy involvement in diversity and inclusion activities.
Jo recently took a career pause to complete a Master of Communication at Bond University on the Gold Coast. She received a high distinction for her dissertation which explored the effects of the transition out of elite sports on self-identity.
Jasmine Titmuss
Corporate Functions Recruitment at JP Morgan Chase & Co | Hong Kong
International cricket player
Jasmine Titmuss is currently an Experienced and Executive Recruiter, Corporate Functions, APAC at JP Morgan looking after Legal, Audit, Asset Management Marketing, Strategy and CSR based in Hong Kong. As well as this, Jasmine sits on JP Morgan’s Access Ability BRG as part of the leadership team and the PRIDE BRG.
Jasmine has spent most of her corporate career in Recruitment, Development and Diversity. Prior to her corporate journey, Jasmine was an international cricketer, representing both England and Hong Kong. On top of this, Jasmine is an advocate for LGBT+ inclusion and works within her local community to drive positive change through sport. In 2021 she won the Community Business LGBT+ Inclusion Champion Award which is positive recognition of her efforts to promote the inclusive culture of sport in the community, in the workplace and beyond in Hong Kong.
Jonny Searle
Executive Coach at PCP | London
Olympic rower
Jonny works as an executive coach with the Professional Career Partnership (PCP) where he helps partners, solicitors, executives, business managers and others in professional services, industry and sport to deal with career management, peak performance, leadership, collaboration and goal setting.
His career started with ten years as a solicitor in a City law firm, then thirteen in the leadership team of an international media company. He has experience as chief operating officer in a technology business and when much younger, he won an Olympic gold medal during ten years as a member of the British rowing team. He has two adult sons and still takes an active interest in rowing.
The host
Sarah Ingwersen
At Taylor Root, Sarah heads the global in-house legal team based in London. She focuses on recruiting general counsels for corporates and has worked with leading companies since 2000 to build out their legal teams.