On Tuesday 10 May NHEHS Sixth Form enjoyed another Careers Spotlight talk from alumna Georgina Thornton. Georgina is currently Vice President, Head of Tennis at IMG Media responsible for tennis media rights at IMG which involves managing the relationships with Wimbledon, ATP Tour, broadcasters and external and internal stakeholders. This is Georgina’s second chapter at IMG, having originally joined in 2005 after reading Law at the University of Warwick. She previously worked as Broadcast Manager at London 2012 and in the Commercial team at Sky Sports managing their acquisitions and syndication. Georgina is currently Co-Chair of Women of Endeavor (the company which owns IMG) and part of the DE&I Taskforce.  

Georgina talked about her career path so far including working abroad in the Pacific Islands and New Zealand for a year, the value of doing lots of varied work experience and placements, the importance of not being afraid to step away from a predictable career path, for example, Georgina did not follow the traditional path of heading to a law firm after university as she knew she wanted to combine her love of sport, business and law. The huge importance of transferable skills in the modern workplace was also discussed.

Georgina also spoke about how the sports media industry has evolved and is much more female-friendly now than it was 20 years ago. It is still a very relationship-based industry and Georgina highly recommended the value of mentors and allies throughout your career. Her top tips were to always smile, even when you are doing the photocopying, the importance of agility and adapting to changes, and making sure you enjoy the work you are doing to have a long-term career. 

As with so many of our speakers it is incredibly valuable to hear how beneficial a non-linear career track can be. It is tempting when at school to assume that one’s degree defines an entire career and we are always grateful to hear a voice contrary to this thinking. 

The Sixth Form asked some excellent, insightful questions and many also stayed for a chat afterwards. Thank you to Georgina for her time, knowledge and sharing her experiences and top tips.