NFL and New York Jets legend, Chad Cascadden, joins specialist Athlete Career Transition (ACT) team to support retiring athletes’ transition to life after sport.
Taking his post in New York, USA, Chad will take on the role of Business Development Executive focussing on ACT’s growth in the USA and working to help organisations understand the core benefits of hiring top sporting talent.
ACT works with elite athletes across the globe as they prepare to transition from sport. Athletes are selected for new career opportunities in high-performing workplaces, helping them harness transferrable skills in a new environment.
When asked why he joined ACT Chad commented; “We were put together (Chad and ACT founders Andy and Steve Moore) through a mutual friend, after getting to know the guys and after knowing what I went through to be successful here in New York as a business associate and executive, selfishly I wanted to be more involved with players who need help, because there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity, and we all need coaching.
It’s probably one of the few things that we miss after we leave sport – we don’t have that coaching anymore, so I wanted to be part of that. The Moore brothers are great people, and I love associating myself with great people. When you put great people together you can do extraordinary things, and I think moving forward with ACT, you’re going to see some extraordinary things.”
Chad makes a unique addition to the ACT team, as a former NFL player for the New York Jets he’s experienced first-hand the challenges associated with transitioning from sport. He will work alongside ACT’s Founders, Former Welsh International Rugby Champions Andy and Steve Moore, to present their unique partnership model to select businesses that share the same passion for the energy, discipline and intangible attributes that professional athletes bring to workplaces across the US.
On transitioning from sport Chad brings with him a wealth of experience. Having worked within the financial and insurance industries with a heavy focus on sales and business development, he has successfully developed high level connections in all major areas of business including Real Estate, Energy, Hospitality and Entertainment to name a few. Chad also appears on television as an analyst for SportsNewYork (SNY) Jets Game Plan show as well as other appearances on shows for NBC & FOX.
On asking chad about his future role within Athlete Career Transition he said: “I can’t wait to bring this platform to our business partners in the United States that are seeking this type of service where we can integrate athletes into these terrific business cultures that are here in the US. The businesses love this stuff, they are longing for it. We’ve had meetings already where people have said ‘this is exactly what we’ve been looking for, when can we start’.
“In my role I am really looking forward to continuing to find businesses and business cultures that make sense for ACT. I’ll be working towards bringing these athletes into the 21st century; giving them a platform where they can ease into the business world and just watch them take off, because that’s what’s going to happen when they work with ACT.”
Andy and Steve are delighted to welcome Chad to the team and are looking forward to creating more unique career opportunities for athletes in the USA. Steve commented: “Chad is an outstanding talent and a great personality. He’s driven, intelligent and fully understands our concept and the role we play in connecting elite athletes with great businesses.
As a former athlete himself, having experienced the challenges of transitioning first-hand, Chad is the ideal person to help business partners understand the value of hiring top-level sporting talent.
Chad has already introduced us to some excellent business partners in the USA, and we’re excited to see where Chad’s involvement takes us.”
This announcement comes one week after ACT confirm a partnership with Fintech giant Intuit, parent company of the popular accountancy software QuickBooks, which sees ACT place elite sporting talent in business development and customer service roles within their London office.