From medals to markets: Olympians taking the reins in financial services

Stepping into the ‘real world’ can seem like a daunting task for athletes exiting the sports bubble. But for these Australian Olympians, taking on a second career in the fast-moving field of finance is an exciting next step. 

Money Management spoke to two former Olympians to understand why they joined financial services, what skills they learnt from their former careers, and why athletes can achieve great business success.

According to Olympic rower, Frank Hegerty, who was tapped to lead private wealth at Ord Minnett in April this year, working in financial services has always been on the cards for him. 

“With rowing, I understood and appreciated I’d have limited time in the sport to achieve what I wanted to achieve, and after that, I wanted to put as much time and energy into the next passion. Getting into finance was always the plan,” said Hegerty, who first joined Ord Minnett as state manager for Victoria and South Australia in 2020.  

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He shared that his keen interest in markets and finance stemmed from its quick pace and dynamism. 

“Also, I appreciate the relationships you can build with clients along the way and how you can assist people achieve financial freedom, whatever that might mean for them,” he told Money Management. 

A dual Olympian, Hegerty had nabbed silver at the 2008 Beijing OIympics while representing Australia in coxless fours rowing and went on to compete as a part of the men’s eight at the London 2012 Games. 

His notable sporting career also included silver at the 2009 World Championships and bronze at the 2010 World Championships. 

Some 15 years had been dedicated to rowing, he estimated, but Hegerty could now count almost two decades in financial services, including  nine years at Westpac across banking and credit roles and more than two years at NAB as private client manager.

He explained: “I always wanted to end up in wealth management, but I appreciated the path there wasn’t linear, so I took a different approach [and] it was probably one that allowed me to continue rowing in the earlier days. 

“I started in analyst positions, where I was able to get a fundamental understanding of markets, but to get towards the client-facing side of the business, I knew I would need to commit more of my time away from rowing.

So, I turned to that after I had hung up the oar, so to speak.”

Sport as a formula for business success 

Fellow Olympian and swimming legend, Grant Hackett, has spent over 15 years in Australian financial services, most recently as chief executive of Generation Life since 2020. 

“People so closely associate my identity with sport, but what’s funny is that I’ve actually spent more time in financial services than I did as a professional athlete! For me, business and finance had always held a huge attraction, just as much as sport. It wasn’t a matter of choosing one or the other, it was ‘this is my time frame to do sport, but at the same time, I want to prepare myself for transitioning beyond sports and do other things I’m interested in’,” he explained. 

Prior to heading up the investment bonds firm, Hackett cut his teeth in financial services across marketing, distribution, and wealth management. He was director of Ascalon Capital in Hong Kong for over three years, director of Regal Funds Management for four years, and, like Hegerty, he worked across various roles at Westpac for some four years. 

“Any type of success is transferable because they’re based on certain principles and behaviours,” he shared.

“You need to be willing to have that same degree of commitment going into another field. You’ve got to have that willingness and drive, ability to learn and be curious, ambition, and teamwork — those things are fundamental in any field, whether that’s sport, business, or even politics.”

For Hackett, strong drive and ambition no doubt fuelled a very successful international career to become one of the greatest distance swimmers in history. His Olympic career spanned three gold medals, three silvers, and a bronze at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008 in the freestyle events along with 10 World Championship gold medals. 

“As soon as I get into an environment where there are things to strive for, things that challenge me, make me scared, and excited at the same time, it makes me think ‘this is where I belong’,” Hackett explained.

“A lot of athletes that I’ve seen go into business — not even necessarily the ones who win Olympics or World Championships — they are unbelievably successful in business because sport teaches you the raw ingredients to formulate success.”

Drawing on his own experience, he recalled his first year running distribution at Generation Life in 2017, prior to taking on an executive role, where the firm saw a 72 per cent increase in results on the previous year. It has now grown from some $700 million to $2.5 billion in funds under management. 

Transferring skills between careers

Hackett’s advice for those contemplating second careers was to take accountability of their futures.

Hackett said: “Whether you’re an athlete or want to transition from another career, you’ve got to be out there proactively making sure you get the qualifications, build the right relationships, do everything to be as successful in the next part of your journey as you were in the previous one.

“Sport is a great vehicle at any age to teach how reward comes from hard work. It also teaches you how to bounce back and motivate yourself [after failure].”

Ord Minnett’s Hegerty agreed that, along with inculcating discipline and a strong work ethic, his Olympic past had numerous transferable skills with his wealth management career today. 

“The really important skill, especially in rowing, was the importance of the team in achieving success. In the boats I was in, which was the four and the eight, it was about how to create an environment for success,” he told Money Management.

“That translates well to business and finance — we have a large team and it’s about creating an environment for success and ensuring we can get the best out of everyone in the team.” 

Another aspect that was transferable, he said, was the commitment to the long journey.

“The Olympics are a long-term journey with a long path to success. It’s about building those 1 per cent improvements to be a little better each day, to achieve success after a four or eight-year cycle,” he said. 

“In my own career, I missed out on the 2004 Athens Olympics and, as much as that was disappointing, I immediately thought, ‘I have four years to do everything I can to make it to the Beijing Olympics’. 

“It’s about being able to refocus, deal with adversity, and have that long-term approach.”