Dan Carter becomes first 'leader in practice' at University of Oxford entrepreneurship centre

All Blacks great Dan Carter has been made a leader at the University of Oxford’s entrepreneurship centre where he will mentor and inspire students and alumni as they tackle some of the worlds most pressing issues.

On Monday, in a post on LinkedIn, Carter said he was honoured to have been appointed a “leader in practice” at the Oxford Foundry, the entrepreneurship centre at the University of Oxford.

“I’ve been given the opportunity to help our future leaders to gain skills in leadership under pressure, developing a mindset of growth, and building strong, collaborative and resilient teams,” Carter said.

Carter said he started his professional rugby career at the age of 20, while his peers were heading off to university.

“While my peers were in university, getting degrees, making memories at orientation weeks and finding their first flats, I was working under strict training schedules while feeling the pressure of a nation.”

His friends used to tell him he was lucky to have a career so early in life, and he said he was incredibly thankful for that.

“But funnily enough, I was on the other side thinking how lucky they were to be studying towards a future of stability.

“Without rugby, I didn’t know what I’d be doing, and I’ve recently entered that next chapter of my life.”

The 39-year-old is considered one of the greatest first five eights to have played the game and is the highest point scorer in test match rugby scoring 1598 points in his 112 tests for the All Blacks.

In February, he announced he was officially retiring from professional rugby.

The Oxford Foundry was established in 2017 by the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, for the benefit of students and alumni of the University of Oxford.

Its mission is to build a new generation of ventures that better society, and to nurture more ethical leaders who put people and planet first.

The foundry was started by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, among others, and was launched in 2017 by Apple chief executive Tim Cook.

Oxford Foundry executive director Ana Bakshi said Carter would be the Foundry’s first ever leader in practice.

He would help inspire students, alumni, and wider communities to lead with purpose and resilience, and support them to gain the mindsets and skills needed to succeed as entrepreneurs or within their careers, she said.

He would provide strategic counsel to the foundry about leadership curriculums, and pioneer an annual flagship event series with world-renowned global leaders across sectors and disciplines, she said.