The Business of Sport - Mya Doelling

Mya Doelling is the Senior Partnership Manager at the International Olympic Committee – IOC and leads on their Purpose Partnerships Strategy. She previously directed Sports Strategy for the United Entertainment Group and is a graduate of Harvard University and NYU Stern School of Business.

Many of the programmes Mya has spent the last five years creating, were delivered at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including the first ever Nursery in an Olympic Village with TOP Partner P&G.

Mya on Paris 2024:

 “It was a really important moment for us to remind the world of the power of the Olympic movement, what these amazing athletes can do and the types of purpose initiatives that athletes champion, that our partners champion and the way that sport as a platform can really make a difference. As somebody who has spent the last five years designing how our partners can really help the Olympic movement achieve greater impact and deliver on our mission, which is to build a better world through sport, this was finally a platform where we could show everyone what we could do. It was a lot of hard work come to life and it was really beautiful to see.”

 Mya on Purpose Partnerships:

 “Sport and purpose is not for every single business and I think the ones that have naturally and strategically become partners with the Olympic movement, largely came to us because of the Olympic values. It is really about, how do we find those synergies of those values and ways in which we can work together and because it really is not for every single business, that is why it has been unique. The programmes that we have been able to develop have found those synergies where one organisation puts a stake in the ground and has long term commitments in areas of sustainability, or gender equality, youth empowerment, that line-up with the IOC’s roadmap to deliver impact in those spaces.”

 Mya looks ahead to LA:

“In the same way that Paris was really my launching pad for what we are doing from a Purpose Partnerships perspective, and the first instance that we have been able to show the results of this strategy, Paris was the first games within the new structure of climate commitments that the IOC has made as an organisation and what we hope to do as the owner of the Olympic Games. So, as we look to LA and Brisbane after that, we have set very clear objectives for our Partners’ and for organising committees’ roles to address not only sustainability, but legacy, venue usage and optimisation. You will see partner initiatives continue to grow in line with these objectives.”