Nelson Pompigne-Mognard - Student-Athlete - Rugby
I am Nelson Pompigne-Mognard, a driven and forward-thinking Franco-Gabonese student-athlete with a strong passion for computer science, artificial intelligence, and high-performance sport. I am motivated by a desire to create real-world impact through technology, leadership, and disciplined execution, and I continuously seek environments that challenge me to grow intellectually, physically, and personally.
I am trilingual in English, French and Portuguese, have lived in five countries (France, Malta, Portugal, England and South Africa), and have travelled extensively across twelve countries, including Iceland, Finland, Morocco, Spain, Ireland, Ghana, Senegal, Poland, Italy, Serbia, Hungary and the United States, gaining broad exposure to diverse cultures, environments and ways of life.
I have been living in South Africa since August 2026, splitting my time between elite rugby programmes and the development of CRONA, a startup focused on rethinking business travel to improve efficiency while significantly reducing its environmental impact. On the rugby side, I am attending the UXI Sport International Rugby Institute's High Performance Rugby Programme from August to December 2026, before continuing to SAS Rugby in Stellenbosch from January to June 2027.
Prior to this, I was a boarder at Bromsgrove School, one of the UK's
top-ranked boarding schools, from 2024 to 2026, where I played
primarily at Number Eight and secondarily at blind-side flanker for the 1st XV.
In December 2025, I was officially called up by the French Rugby Federation (FFR) to join its prestigious "Générations Bleues" U18 elite programme, identifying me as a high-potential U18 player and marking my entry into France's national performance system.
Download my complete rugby résumé: https://bit.ly/NelsonRugby
Watch my 2025 rugby highlights:
Watch my 2025 training session with Ben John, Founder of The Rugby Trainer Academy:
In December 2025, I was ranked second-best Number Eight (out of ten) at the NextGenXV Global School Challenge, a five-day elite tournament held in Spain that brought together South Africa's most dominant schoolboy rugby programmes, including Grey College, Oakdale and Southern Legion. I finished second only to Jacobus de Villiers, Number Eight for the South Africa Under-18 national team (SA Schools), underlining my status among the very best international schoolboy players in my position.
Alongside sport, I am deeply committed to academic excellence and leadership. At Bromsgrove School, I serve as President of the Lower Sixth Model United Nations, President of the Lower Sixth Mathematics Society, and a 1st XV rugby player, while also participating in elite programmes such as the Senior Mathematical Challenge, in which I earned a Silver certificate, the Gold Duke of Edinburgh, and the UK Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge.
Earlier in my schooling, I founded the TASIS Portugal Equestrian Club and served as Varsity Basketball Team Captain, Student Council Representative, and Service Ambassador. I also competed in mathematics, competitive programming, and music, and took part in multiple national Model United Nations conferences, earning Best Delegate awards. I was a Top 10 finisher at the St. Julian’s International Coding Competition 2023 Hackathon, and since 2024, I have served as UK Ambassador at Teen Talks Club, a podcast designed to help high school students make more informed decisions about their career paths.
My passion for technology began in childhood, dismantling electronics with my grandfather to understand how they worked. This curiosity evolved into hands-on experience in software development, robotics, and engineering.
I was selected for the Clare College Explore Engineering and Technology Programme at the University of Cambridge, where I received the Best Academic Achievement Award (Ranked 1/32) and worked on advanced problem-solving challenges, including conceptual solutions for Mars colonisation.
I was also selected among the top 20% of global applicants for the Futures Forge Skills for Success Programme, backed by MIT and Oxford, where I emerged as a top performer in leadership, innovation, and critical thinking.
I interned at Zipline, a global leader in medical drone delivery, at their Omenako facility in rural Ghana. I gained advanced training in drone operations, maintenance, and data analysis while contributing directly to life-saving logistics. I designed and implemented a SQL/Python-powered analytics dashboard that reduced manual reporting by 60% and is now being scaled across multiple facilities across Africa. I also carried out complex drone maintenance and optimisation tasks, improving operational efficiency and reliability.
Watch moments of my internship @ Zipline:
Beyond academics and sport, I founded the Bromsgrove Black Students Association (BBSA) to celebrate African cultures, foster unity, and promote cultural awareness through educational initiatives, cultural events, and professional networking.
I am also developing a startup focused on rethinking business travel to improve efficiency while significantly reducing environmental impact. The project is well advanced, with a defined name, brand identity, and marketing strategy, and is scheduled for launch by the end of 2026.
Outside rugby, I previously competed as a national-level independent showjumper in Portugal, trained by a former Portuguese national champion. I competed in classes up to 1.20m, developing discipline, precision, and composure under pressure.
My long-term objective is to study at a top university in the United States, where I aim to continue combining elite sport, academic excellence, entrepreneurship, and leadership to build a career at the intersection of technology, innovation, and global impact.
Get In Touch
Email: me@nelsonpm.co
LinkedIn: Nelson Pompigne-Mognard
Instagram: @nelsonpm_