How Business School Prepared Me For Life As A Project Manager At The Olympic Games

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are in full swing, with sports such as swimming, gymnastics, and equestrian dominating television screens in the opening weeks. 

For competitors, the Olympic Games is the culmination of years of hard work and dedicated training. However, it’s not just the competing athletes who have been finalizing preparations in recent months. 

With the setup costing an estimated €9 billion ($9.75 billion), work for the Games has been ongoing in Paris for years. It’s a mammoth task, involving erecting new sporting venues, transforming existing ones, organizing logistics and security, catering to the needs of the Olympic Village, and just about any other task you could think of. 

Those involved in the Olympic Organizing Committee have also, therefore, been busy. 

Employees in the Organizing Committee for Paris 2024 hold a wide range of jobs, ranging from partnership development to product management, with many well-suited to the management and leadership skills that business school graduates possess. 

To find out what it’s like to be part of the organization of one of the largest global events—and how business school can prepare you for it—BusinessBecause spoke with Marion Clausse, a b-school grad from France, currently working as a mass events project manager for the Olympic Games. 

For Paris 2024, Marion’s key focus has been the Marathon Pour Tous (Marathon For All), an event that is making history as the first Olympic competition to ever be open to members of the general public. On August 10th, more than 20,000 amateur participants will run the same route as the athletes participating in the Olympic marathon. 

Applying to business school to pursue a sports management career 

As an amateur sportsperson who’d spent much of her life riding horses, in 2017 Marion’s passion for sport inspired her to enroll in a Master’s in Sports Organization Management at France’s Audencia Business School. 

A bachelor’s graduate with a degree in economics and business, she’d considered other career options, but ultimately her love of sport won her over. 

“I've always practiced my sport (horse-riding) alongside my studies. I've been competing since I was 7 years old,” she explains. “I wanted to specialize in the world of sport in order to work in an environment that interested me more. That's why I decided to do the Master in Sports Organization Management.”

As a specialist program-type, there are fewer options when it comes to studying sports management degrees at accredited business schools than other, more typical courses. 

Institutions such as Emlyon Business School, based in Lyon, and Kedge Business School, based in Marseille, offer specialized degrees; however, Audencia had a strong reputation and offered Marion the opportunity to remain in Paris—where she practiced her horse riding. 

From business school to the Olympic Games Organizing Committee 

Studying a degree that focused on management through the lens of sport was the perfect fit for Marion’s interests and career goals. Through the program, she developed a range of skills and specialist knowledge while balancing her studies with horse riding. 

“My studies taught me perseverance and the importance of working hard to achieve your goals. These are things that I put into practice on a daily basis, both in my sport and at work,” she explains. 

“The Master's degree at Audencia taught me rigor, but also planning and organizational skills,” she adds. 

Her studies culminated with a professional thesis, which she chose to focus on the link between the spectator experience and sporting events and sporting practice. The newfound knowledge she gained throughout the year-long program proved fruitful in preparing her to take the next step in her career. 

After graduation, Marion first got involved with the International Olympic Committee in 2019 via the Young Leaders Program, which saw her working on educational projects to promote the values of Olympism among young people. 

While maintaining her involvement with the Young Leaders Program, her participation also helped Marion unlock further opportunities to take part in the organization of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

Like many others, Marion began working on preparation for the competition all the way back in 2019. Her first role involved working on achieving the mission of the Paris Olympic Games to bring together a host of territories, clubs, and communities to mobilize the games. Later, in 2023, she turned her focus to the organization of the Marathon Pour Tous. 

Working on the Organizing Committee for the Paris Olympic Games 

Fast-forward to 2024 and Marion is fully focused on her role organizing the Mass Participation Marathon. 

Her key responsibility is being in charge of relations with those participating in the race: “I have to make sure that on the big day, everyone is able to start the race in the best possible conditions,” she explains. 

Each day brings for Marion new tasks to solve and challenges to navigate. This is only likely to heighten during the buildup to the big day on August 10th.

“At Paris 2024, and more particularly in the world of sports events, there's no such thing as a typical day. Every day is different and has a different rhythm to it, depending on the progress of the project. So you have to be able to adapt constantly to your environment and the people around you,” she explains. 

Participating in the organizing of the Olympic Games has its bonuses. Marion is excited that she can be present at the historic event and also be able to meet Olympians from across the globe. Having worked on the project for a number of years now, she is also proud of her own involvement. 

“Being part of the Olympic Games, even without competing as a professional athlete, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am incredibly grateful for every moment on this project.” 

The Marathon Pour Tous is one of the very last events of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games,  with the closing ceremony set to take place on the 11th of August. As Marion begins to prepare for life after the Games, she is excited to continue combining her passion for sports and her expertise in management. 

“After the Olympic Games, I plan to set up my own company in the field of equine welfare. First of all, because it's an activity that really speaks to me and matches my values, but also because I want to embark on the adventure of entrepreneurship.” 

Of course, she’ll also be hoping to achieve greater heights on her horse as she continues her own sporting journey.