We know that ‘personal impact’ can be problematic: individuals should rarely be held responsible for social harm or good. However, it is also important not to be disempowered. We can all choose, to some degree, to make a change and an impact. With that in mind, we are delighted to welcome to Alive and Kicking our new Head of Growth, Catherine Orset. Catherine has chosen to turn her decades of experience in the corporate sporting goods world to join us in our mission of using football as a force for good: here she tells us about her journey to this point, and what goes into making such a decision.
At the age of 27 I moved to the UK with very little English knowledge (my old university teacher will be happy to verify that!). I was willing to put myself in an uncomfortable situation in order to grow, and I think I learned that through sports. Over a decade of my teenage and young adult years I lived my entire life through sports: I trained and competed at the highest national level in discus. These years taught me to face challenges and make brave decisions for the rest of my life.
So after 3 months in the UK of struggling to communicate with anyone, I finally managed to get my dream job at NikeTown London – I was greeting people with the clearest “good morning!” and “goodbye” you could hear on Oxford Street. I quickly learned from my amazing colleagues there and progressed through Running department then Customer Service. 2 years on, I had the opportunity to work on a specific project, traveling the country for Nike. I could not believe it!
When I was at NikeTown in one of our morning huddles, one of my colleagues was giving a presentation to the team. I remember watching her, thinking “the day that I become that girl I can leave this country and die happy”. Two years after that, it happened… I was living that moment. After that I think I was fearless, and I never let myself get too comfortable.
I then worked for Nike Accessories UK Licensee and oversaw the South England area for 4 years, another wonderful experience that taught me a lot about myself and helped me to gain confidence. Eventually I moved to Under Armour as a key account manager for almost 5 amazing years. I still look back on that young girl coming to London, crying every day because nobody could understand her, and I am so proud of her. I learned a lot during my time there, not only about work but from a personal point of view too.
I am grateful for my years spent in such big corporates and will never forget certain privileged moments we had as employees. But I am proudest of my most recent move: leaving the corporate world to work for a social enterprise. After the COVID-19 pandemic, my priorities changed. While it was important for me to still work in sports, I needed to bring more purpose into my professional life. I needed to work more directly with people again, and know I was making an impact. Maybe it was a little mid-life crisis as well!
I have been involved with Alive and Kicking since 2019, when I went to a breakfast organised by Africa Sports Unified and began volunteering with the charity, so I am really excited to join the company as the new Head of Growth now. Giving communities all over the world access to sport and health education, creating ethical jobs, while doing what I love and am good at… every day I wake up excited. I am looking forward to the next decade of my life – we’re going to have fun!
