“Deloitte’s Global Impact on Sports: Transforming the Olympic Movement through Innovation, Gender Equality, and Sustainability”

In this insightful conversation, iSportConnect’s Taruka Srivastav sits down with John Tweardy, Consulting Principal for the Olympic & Paralympic Games & Major Events at Deloitte Switzerland. They explore Deloitte’s ambitious mission to become the “most trusted” professional services provider in the sports sector, driven by a decade-long partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). John delves into the organization’s strategy for Paris 2024, the importance of gender parity, and the transformative role Deloitte is playing in the Olympic movement through digital innovation, sustainability, and athlete support.

Tell us about the current strategy and vision and mission for Deloitte when it comes to sports.

We have a goal to be the “most trusted” professional services organization in sports. This mission requires bringing our entire global portfolio to our clients to help solve their biggest challenges. Deloitte Sports has been making an impact for over 10 years and has nearly 3,000 practitioners globally focused on sports. In 2022, we were inspired by the IOC’s mission to create a “better world through sport” and wanted to take the practice to the next level, truly driving transformation on and off the field of play. The result was the IOC and Deloitte announcing a 10-year, five-Games TOP partnership through 2032 to transform the way the Olympic and Paralympic Games are experienced by fans and delivered to the world.

Deloitte’s purpose is at the heart of our partnership. We are applying our deep expertise in management and business consulting to enhance and secure the IOC’s digital ecosystem supporting the Olympic Movement. Using our business acumen, we are delivering initiatives that catalyze historic firsts–like driving gender equality across sport and helping members of the Olympic movement reach their sustainability aspirations. From launching the Olympic Games Learning Platform to over 2,000 users across four Organizing Committees to support the continuation of knowledge across the Olympic Games to now operating digital transformation capabilities of Converge™ by Deloitte for Sports, which powers the Olympic Fan Data platform, we are already seeing the impact of our partnership across transformation, talent, and purpose.

Additionally, I am proud to say that Deloitte has an extraordinary dual-career group comprised of 15 athletes who are both Deloitte professionals and elite athletes. They competed in 11 different sports at Paris 2024, earning a total of nine medals—five gold, two silver, and two bronze. Team Deloitte exemplifies how Deloitte supports athletes in pursuing their dream of competing in the Olympic and Paralympic Games while building their dual careers and, further, how Deloitte can help the IOC support Olympians’ post-athletic careers through specific education and skills-building resources. ​

What was your (commercial / digital / marketing / content) strategy with regards to Paris 2024?

Ahead of Paris 2024, Deloitte and the IOC launched The First Effect – a campaign that celebrates our unique partnership with the Olympic Movement and the stories of trailblazing Olympians and Paralympians who have achieved a first, paving the way for others to follow– measuring the transformative impact of humanity’s firsts on the world’s greatest stage.

It was powerful to see featured firsts such as the first female Olympian to run for Saudi Arabia, the first Refugee Olympic Team, and the first amputee swimmer to qualify for the Olympic Games. During Paris 2024, Deloitte celebrated 48 new firsts, including the first Olympic Games with an equal number of male and female athletes and the first medal for both the Refugee Olympic and Paralympic Team. Ads featuring the campaign were displayed around Paris—including large ads along the Champs Elysees and in the Gare du Nord train station.

Paris 2024 was the first games for Gender Parity. How important was that for sponsors like you?

This was a major milestone for the Olympic Movement. Our Deloitte France teams helped certify the Games with a first-of-its-kind GEDI (Gender, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) framework. Working with the IOC, Deloitte has supported the creation of a maturity assessment tool to define progressive maturity levels related to gender equality, diversity and inclusion for international events. This tool aims to provide a set of guidelines to foster gender equality, diversity, and inclusion at events and can be used for future Olympic Games and events all over the world.