On August 28, Paris will host the Paralympic Games - where some 4,400 Paralympians will compete in 23 sports in front of over 3 million spectators.
The Paralympics shine a spotlight on the incredible talent, dedication, and perseverance of Paralympic athletes. Championing freedom, empowerment and a strong sense of personal identity, Para Sport not only promotes inclusive professional sporting opportunities, but also drives wider societal change. Celebrating differences, encouraging equality and inclusion, Para Sport is transformational in helping empower the lives of the world’s 1.2 billion people living with disabilities.
Lauren Steadman MBE, UK Para Triathlete and Gold Medalist and Citi Ambassador, joins the podcast to talk about her personal journey, her mindset, and motivations, as well as her ambitions for elevating mental health awareness in sport.
Joining Lauren is Ingrid Giordano, Head of Early Career Talent Acquisition at Citi. Ingrid highlights the many ways that Citi is championing Para Sport, including its athlete mentorship programme.
Citigroup Inc. (“Citi”), and Para Sport. are not affiliated and are independent companies, though Para Sport has a relationship with Citi as they are a founding partner of Para Sport. The speakers’ views are their own and may not necessarily reflect the views of Citi or any of its affiliates.
All opinions are subject to change without notice. Neither the information provided, nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. The expressions of opinion are not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results.
Lauren Steadman is a British Paralympic triathlete competing in the PTS5 classification. Steadman began her Paralympic career as a swimmer at Beijing 2008. Receiving encouragement from her uncle, Steadman first tried Paratriathlon in 2011 and committed to the sport after competing in swimming events at London 2012. Her decision to change sports resulted in her first career Paralympic medal at Rio 2016 where she won Silver in the PT4 class. Steadman’s determination in Paratriathlon led her to win her first Gold medal in PTS5 at Tokyo 2020. She was presented with the 2019 Female Para Triathlete of the Year award by 220 Triathlon Magazine and named Female Para Triathlete of the Year in both 2014 and 2015 at the British Triathlon Awards. With her athletic success, Steadman was named a Member of the British Empire in 2021. She is currently competing in the World Triathlon Para Series, most recently winning Bronze at the World Triathlon Para Championships in Spain. Simultaneously, she is preparing to qualify for Para Nordic skiing, a new discipline for Steadman. Outside of her athletic career, Steadman also took part in multiple celebrity-focused television shows, including being a contender of Strictly Come Dancing and being awarded co-winner of Channel 4’s 2020 Celebrity SAS.
Ingrid Giordano is the Global Early Career Talent Acquisition and Program Management Head responsible for the global strategy and ongoing innovation and optimization of the early career operating model, workforce planning, processes, and technology platforms. In her role, she leads a team of early career professionals and oversees the global campus and early career attraction and selection strategy, growth of the programs, end-to-end management of analyst and associate programs. Ingrid’s team develops and manages relationships with business sponsors and steering committees to ensure the campus strategy is embedded in the overall business agenda and culture as well as measuring the effectiveness of the programs against stated success criteria. Ingrid began with Citi in the late 1990s working across multiple human resources areas as well as businesses. She has been passionate about playing an integral part in the attraction and development of early career talent. She has served on multiple steering committees, built many early engagement programs, and led several programs across products and geographies. Prior to joining Citi, Ingrid worked at various financial services firms as a client manager and lead for learning and development. Ingrid’s contributions also include leading the submission recognizing Citi as having the #1 internship program in the Americas as well as recognition for award winning programming for the early identification program with a diversity, equity, and inclusion award. Ingrid launched the HBCU Innovation Leadership Symposium Program at Citi providing HBCU students across 20 HBCUs an opportunity to learn about opportunities in financial services. She has supported the Asian Leaders of Today initiatives including serving as a moderator and panelist for various initiatives. She serves on Citi’s Global Asian Heritage Diversity Committee. Ingrid received her Bachelor’s degree from Pace University. She was a Director-Employer on the NACE (National Association of Colleges & Employers) Board of Directors. She serves on advisory boards including being a member of the New York Jobs CEO Council, College Apprenticeship Advisory Board and JFF Ventures Corporate Innovation Council.
