In preparation for this year's Paris Olympics, eight rowers on Team USA's women's rowing team split time between workouts on the water and working in the office.
Broadridge, a Lake Success, New York-based fintech that provides trading technology for wealth managers, banks and public companies, employed the rowers as part of its Elite Athlete Management Program.
The program, which currently has 10 participants (with eight qualifying for this year's Games), was inspired by Broadridge's CEO Tim Gokey, who rowed in college, and Managing Director of Wealth Management Jean Reilly, who rowed in college as a walk-on and dreamed of competing in the Olympics.
"I was working in coaching at the same time, and there just weren't opportunities to really continue your career at the time," Reilly said in an interview with Financial Planning.
Reilly described herself as a "product of Title IX" and said that at the time she started rowing, women were relatively new to the sport. While she loved rowing, she did not always feel supported as an athlete.
"I would have stayed longer in the sport if I had somebody that would support me, or if I could have started my career," she said. "But I had to choose between a career and staying on and rowing."
Broadridge wanted to create a program that would address this dilemma, help athletes perform well in their sport and give them financial security and support as they launched their non-athletic careers.
"America doesn't send athletes to the Olympics. Americans do … If America is going to be great at athletics, we will absolutely need to support athletes," Reilly said.
Rowing toward a professional career, one stroke at a time
Olympic rowers Molly Bruggeman, Charlotte Buck, Azja Czajkowski, Emily Kallfelz, Molly Reckford, Regina Salmons, Michelle Sechser and Jessica Thoennes all participated in the Broadridge program.
Broadridge athletes made up nearly a third of all Team USA's women's rowers.
Though the Broadridge rowers didn't return with a medal this year, all made it to the final rounds in Paris. Thoennes and Czajkowski placed fourth in the women's two-person boat; Kallfelz placed fifth in the women's four-person boat; Bruggeman, Buck and Salmons placed fifth in the eight-person boat; and Sechser and Reckford placed sixth in the lightweight two-person boat.
"The team did very well at the Paris Olympics, and we have a lot to be proud of," Reckford said. "Our women's team qualified all women's boats for the fifth consecutive Olympics. For the last two Games, we are the only country to achieve this. I'm proud of the work we have done and excited to see the direction the team is going."
To prepare for the waters of the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, the rowers woke up early in the morning and completed two to three workouts per day. In between morning and afternoon workouts, athletes got online to complete their work for Broadridge.
Athletes who are part of Broadridge's program are responsible for working 20 hours a week for the company, from noon to 4 p.m. five days a week.
"The flexibility from the Elite Athlete Management Program was integral to being able to train," Reckford said. "Broadridge did an amazing job helping us find roles within the company that allowed us to be flexible with both our daily schedule (starting later, or ending early, or taking midday training breaks) and with our longer-term schedules as training took up more of our time as the Games approached. It is of course busy to manage work and training, but Broadridge has been an excellent partner in helping us find the balance of doing both."
The athletes work across several departments at Broadridge, including strategy, client success, professional services and finance.
Reckford, who rowed in the women's lightweight double sculls event, said that the financial support from Broadridge during her training was helpful in achieving both her athletic and career goals. Before Broadridge, she worked at Citi as an analyst and at Menlo Park, California-based Aetos Alternatives Management as an associate.
"Working for Broadridge gave me the ability to afford rent on an apartment last year, as opposed to needing to stay with a host family," Reckford said. "The Elite Athlete Management Program has introduced me to nearly all of the executives of the company, and helped create a pipeline for me to find mentors and create relationships with the executive leadership team."
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Reilly said that athletes are particularly
Broadridge President Chris Perry sees the program as a great recruitment opportunity for Broadridge to take on athletes full-time as their athletic careers transition from Olympic-level competition to club rowing, which is less time-intensive.
"We feel like we're doing our American part in one way," he said. "We love that we are supporting the diversity agenda because of women's rowing. And we're really excited about the potential of these well-educated, very proven work ethic people joining the company full-time after."
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Reckford is looking forward to her future at Broadridge as she pivots away from rowing as her main focus.
"I would like to find a place within Broadridge where I can be constantly challenged and learning, and the rotational program has absolutely helped me learn about new areas of business where I would be interested in settling down," she said. "I don't know exactly where my five-year plan is, or whether continuing with rowing will be part of it, but I do want to return to full-time work for the next year while I try to find my own occupational North Star."
Recent beginnings, broad horizons
Partnering with USRowing, the national governing organization for the sport, Broadridge's program started with four athletes in 2022 and grew to 10 by the next year. USRowing sent Broadridge résumés of athletes with a range of experience, from those fresh out of college to those with MBAs, who were looking to be recruited.
As part of the original three-year partnership, Broadridge was a presenting sponsor of USRowing's Youth National Championship and USRowing Golden Oars Gala for 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The company chose to employ women athletes because of their underrepresentation in financial services.
"We love the diversity angle because it's women's rowing. We specifically chose women's rowing to support that. We're also trying to bring more women into them, into the organization, into middle management ranks, and we said, 'Okay, let's find a way to sponsor this,'" Perry said.
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It has been such a success that Broadridge has even been approached by other national teams that want their athletes to be considered for the program.
Perry said that budget allowing, Broadridge would like to expand the program, which complements its regular management training efforts, to include athletes from other sports.
"We would entertain something because it feels like we've opened up an access point to people that have education and work ethic and will make for long-term great associates," he said.
Perry called the program a "win-win" and a "circle of positivity" for Broadridge and for athletes.
"They can be fully immersed in their dream and their commitment to the Olympic program, and they can be working in real business, doing real projects, so that their résumé, from a professional standpoint, is not gapped by whatever time they put into full-time training," he said.
A culture of support
Broadridge employees were heavily invested in the success of their coworkers at the Olympics.
"Emotionally, my team at Broadridge has been in my cheering corner since I rotated into the group in the fall," Reckford said.
The company created a special chat where athletes could post updates about their training for all employees to see, according to Reilly, who attended the Paris Olympics to watch the Broadridge athletes compete.
"15,000 Broadridge associates around the world felt like they were there with it, and they were all sending their positive wishes and motivation. And it was pretty infectious," she said.
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"[We are] super proud of them," she said. "It's amazing. We already see the intensity that they have and the teamwork that they have out on the water come into the office, and how they go about their work and how they go about team building and making projects happen."
Perry said that the training program fits into Broadridge's mission of improving the financial futures of clients by powering their ability to invest through advisors.
"Elite talent aligned up with this program creates a great performance and future for our company, for many generations," he said.
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Reilly said that the team sport of rowing itself is also compatible with the company's culture. "The culture is very much about teamwork and collaboration," she said. "[The athletes] bring so much to the table."
