Former Olympic swimmer Grant Hackett reveals his new career as a finance CEO has been life-changing

After officially hanging up his Speedos back in 2008, Grant Hackett revealed he’s traded the swimming pool for the boardroom.

In an interview with The Morning Show on Friday, the 40-year-old former Olympic swimmer revealed he’s now the CEO of an up-and-coming finance company.

‘It’s been a huge positive,’ he said of his new career and the impact it’s had on his life.  

‘I always need that deep sense of purpose and drive in what I do, otherwise I get a bit too bored.’

Grant revealed he was studying finance while swimming, and said he’s always been interested in business.  

He ventured into banking after his retirement from swimming, and said his current job at investment company Generation Life helped him to turn his life around.

‘To have that guidance and accountability and ownership around you is fantastic,’ he added. 

The former athlete has had a troubled past, which led to multiple highly publicised run-ins with the law.

In October 2011, police were called to the Melbourne apartment he shared with his former wife, singer Candice Alley, following a dispute.

The former couple later announced their split in May 2012, and in April 2016, Grant was questioned by police following an alleged assault on a plane.

In February 2017, he was arrested following a disturbance at his parents’ home on the Gold Coast.

Speaking to Men’s Health in June 2017, Grant spoke about his reliance on alcohol and sleeping pills, and his mental health issues following his public marriage breakdown.  

‘By no means would I do something every day… I would get to those periods after many weeks or many months of not doing anything and I would use something to numb that state of anxiety,’ he explained.

But Grant is in a much healthier place now, announcing his engagement to cook book author Sharlene Fletcher in October last year.

The couple welcomed their first child together in January this year, a son named Edward.