OUR STORY
Podium X is the result of two years of research in combination with the development of programs that provide career solutions for transitioning athletes. Built on the success of placing athletes into organizations based on traits learned through athletics, Podium X is designed to simplify the process of recognizing those transferrable skills and experiences to create paths to successful, long-term careers. Our own team is comprised of former athletes offering a combination of experience in career services, staffing, coaching, training and human resources.
How things Kicked off...
Rich Thompson’s story is similar to those of many graduating athletes. As a First-Team All Big Ten Placekicker for the University of Wisconsin, Rich had focused his youth, high school and college almost entirely on athletics. After being released from the Green Bay Packers in 1994, he had no clue what to do for a career. He was unsure if he knew how to do anything that was employable – and the task of finding a meaningful job seemed overwhelming. After some early misses followed by some good luck, Rich stumbled into a career that was a perfect fit. As it turned out, all the skills he needed for his job had been learned through the rigors of high-level athletics.
Leader in HR, Career Development & Staffing
Rich rose through the ranks of sales and operations of a Global Fortune 500 company becoming the Global Vice President of Talent where he was responsible for training and development for leaders in more than 60 countries. His next role was as the Chief HR Officer for the largest region of the worlds leading staffing organization that provides 3.5 million careers annually. By this time, he was an expert on what makes people employable, what companies want in an employee, and why athletes have great foundational skills for many different career paths. When he started his first company, Xtra Point Group in 2019, he launched a successful program with Major League Baseball that focused on the soft skills of former players looking to build non-sports careers
2020
In 2020, Rich (and partner Amy Carlisle) launched a staffing company, XPG Recruit, which quickly grew to an organization with large national clients. By 2021, XPG Recruit took the learnings from Xtra Point Group and began to place graduating athletes into open roles based on the soft skills developed through athletics. Combining the training and development from Xtra Point Group and the staffing of athletes through XPG Recruit, a need was identified to offer a better process to the transitioning athlete – one that is simple, accessible, scalable and sustainable.
PodiumX Was Released
In December of 2021, Xtra Point Group released Podium X, the digitized process of identifying the soft skills of athletes and providing them with an online podium in which to tell their relevant story. It includes the tools to create a resume, match to the constantly growing number of open jobs within Podium X, and access to the expertise of XPG Recruit career specialists.