LOANING TOP TALENT TO THE GAMES
DELOITTE, one of the Olympics sponsors, is playing a major part in making the games in 2012 a winner by offering up staff to play key roles in the organisation of the event.
The auditing and consulting giant has seconded some of its top people to help create the best Olympics ever as have other Games sponsors.
The Olympic website will be run with the know-how of Deloitte’s online guru Liz Goulding [pictured, right].
The 27-year old from Washington is on secondment to the 2012 organising committee and is responsible for bringing the Games to life online for millions of people around the world.
A team of up to 20, to include some volunteers, will work round the clock to update medal tables and provide a constant news flow for the greatest show on earth.
Details of what the site will look like are being kept under wraps until the launch in spring next year, but it will be presented in at least English and French and feature real-time news.
Goulding, who was a star gymnast as a child, said: “I am really looking forward to the Games and this is my ideal job. As a keen gymnast I have always watched the Olympics and now to be involved in some way is amazing.
“We have learned lessons from other Games and the website will be as slick as we can make it.
Meanwhile colleague Julie Neuhoff swapped her job as consulting manager to join the Olympics organising committe.
She is in charge of the three main Olympic Villages where Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis, and the thousands of Olympic hopefuls will be spending quality time off the stadium.
Julie will have to meet the needs of 16,000 athletes and team officials in Olympic mode, 6,200 Paralympics athletes and technical officers, as well as managing 10,000 bedrooms across the Olympic villages located in Weymouth & Portland, Royal Holloway and Stratford.
Her expertise as part Deloitte’s consulting team has proved to be an extremely valuable asset in what she considers “one of them most exciting challenges of my career.”
She said: “This is the biggest sporting event on the planet and it’s been a great experience to work on the operational side of an organisation, as opposed to the consulting side of things.
“However my background as a management consultant has really helped me in my new position as part of the Olympic organising committee. You need to be able to work with people, listen to them, and deliver what hey need.”
Julie will return to her consultant position at Deloitte once the Games are over, claiming the Olympic experience has enriched her professional skills in multiple ways.
She said: “It has given me a fantastic insight into the operational urgency of business and this can only help me when I return to Deloitte. It’s showed me how to communicate effectively with people and deliver according to their needs.”