Robert Roxburgh, Associate Director for Corporate Communications at the International Olympic Committee, La Châtaigneraie 1996

Robert Roxburgh 

La Châtaigneraie, 1996

Associate Director for Corporate Communications at the International Olympic Committee

Switzerland

Find out more about me:

• Website
• Twitter: @iocmedia and @olympics

I still live in Switzerland, working for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). I am currently the Associate Director of Corporate Communications. With my team, we work on all of the IOC’s corporate communications platforms and projects. This includes communications for the Olympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, and the Olympic Qualifier Series; media relations; marketing communications; publications; language services; internal communications; and all our institutional topics. All of this happens in association with the local Organising Committees, and our partners, to promote the IOC’s work and protect its public reputation.

My favourite memory from Ecolint was the Berlin field week held shortly after I arrived at La Châtaigneraie. It was a great way for me to meet the other people in my year and to discover a fascinating city. It really helped me to integrate into the school much more quickly than if I had just attended class every day. It also gave me my first real insight into the unique environment that Ecolint provides with schoolmates from all over the world and from various backgrounds.

My work requires me to be able to understand and interact with people from lots of different cultures daily. Where better to learn how to do that than at the International School of Geneva? The unique international culture that I discovered at Ecolint on the La Chât campus was, in hindsight, the perfect way to develop my intercultural communication skills in a safe and secure environment. This experience has helped me in many situations since I graduated.

I really enjoyed my time at Ecolint, so I’m not sure that I would necessarily want to make any big changes if I had to do it all over again. However, if I had to say something, it would probably be participating more in the extra-curricular opportunities offered by the school. The academics are, of course, important but some other important skills and memories can be made beyond the classroom, and I think I could have made more of those opportunities. 

My words of wisdom for Ecolint students: pursue studies at Ecolint and a career that interests you. And don’t panic if it turns out not to be what you expected.

It can take time before we really understand what we like and want to do. So, take charge of your own life and have the courage to decide in which direction you want to go when you reach a crossroads. I would add, however, that this is different from giving up because something seems too difficult or complicated. Persistence and hard work are key components to success, as your personal journey will not always be straightforward.