Press release -
Moving Ahead, BPA and Allianz work together to develop the team behind the team
British Paralympic Association (BPA) employees were assigned top tier corporate mentors from Allianz Insurance in a unique 12-month scheme run by diversity and development experts, Moving Ahead, at an event on Wednesday 29 November.
The group of 30 mentors and mentees met for the first time at the event, where they heard from Paralympic gold medallist Megan Giglia MBE.
Megan Giglia was a multi-sport coach before she had an acute brain haemorrhage and stroke in 2013 which caused paralysis to the right side of her body. Just three years later, after embarking on an intensive rehabilitation and training programme, she represented ParalympicsGB in the velodrome at Rio 2016, winning gold in the individual pursuit at the Rio Paralympics. Giglia was also a double gold medallist at the UCI Paracycling Track World Championships in 2016.
Monica Relph, who is a former GB rower and Client Partner at Moving Ahead said: “It’s great for us at Moving Ahead to be using our expertise in mentoring to amplify the existing commercial partnership between Allianz and the BPA through this Sport-to-Business programme.
“Allianz sponsored my sister Pam Relph MBE as a Paralympic rower. I’ve seen first-hand how this kind of joint-working can transform individual’s lives, and as an organisation, Moving Ahead sees time and again how mentoring enhances organisations’ creativity and output. By working with people from different backgrounds and with different experiences, you will always learn something new, or be introduced to a new approach to solve an old problem. It’s an entirely positive experience for mentors and mentees.”
The scheme is designed to give Allianz and BPA colleagues the opportunity to learn from working with a diverse group of people, with different backgrounds and experiences. The programme maximises the existing commercial partnership between the BPA and Allianz. It will offer opportunities to develop mentoring skills at both organisations, through workshops and events, with mentoring experts at Moving Ahead. There will be two core events and invitations to attend a number of learning and networking masterclasses, with excellent opportunities to network across industries and hear from high-profile keynote speakers.
Jon Dye, CEO of Allianz Insurance, commented “This new mentoring programme is a tremendous way for Allianz to extend its support for the BPA. We have been overwhelmed by the response from our colleagues, seeking to share their experience and knowledge. I’m sure people in both organisations will benefit enormously.”
Tim Hollingsworth OBE, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, said: “I’m really pleased to present this opportunity to the BPA team through our fantastic partnership with Allianz and I hope that both sides really benefit from the scheme. Colleagues from across the organisation have chosen to participate in the programme, demonstrating the positive attitude and commitment to learning and development that we encourage within the BPA so that everyone can achieve their potential.”
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About the British Paralympic Association and ParalympicsGB
The British Paralympic Association is the National Paralympic Committee for the UK, responsible for the promotion of the Paralympic movement in Great Britain and selecting, entering and funding the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Paralympic team.
ParalympicsGB is the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Paralympic Team competing at the summer and winter Paralympic Games. We know that the outstanding performances of our athletes have a powerful impact on the British public and can shift perceptions of disability in society, helping to inspire a better world for disabled people.
Our partners are tremendous supporters of the BPA and ParalympicsGB through commercial sponsorship as well as their own fundraising activity. Further details are available athttp://paralympics.org.uk/partners
Allianz Insurance plc is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz Group.
The Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with more than 86 million retail and corporate customers. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance. Allianz is one of the world’s largest investors, managing over 650 billion euros on behalf of its insurance customers while our asset managers Allianz Global Investors and PIMCO manage an additional 1.3 trillion euros of third-party assets. Thanks to our systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we hold a leading position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2016, over 140,000 employees in more than 70 countries achieved total revenue of 122 billion euros and an operating profit of 11 billion euros for the group.
