Octagon is working with Mikaela Shiffrin’s agent, Kilian Albrecht, to represent the alpine skier globally. The agency’s Olympic division, which is led by Michael Phelps’ agent, Peter Carlisle, will provide marketing, communications and legal support to Albrecht and collaborate with him on managing Shiffrin’s endorsement career. Albrecht said, "For an athlete like Mikaela, you need a whole team. It makes sense to work with Peter because he’s been working with the best. Michael Phelps is the best, most successful Olympian." Carlisle said, “We plan to help Kilian manage her through a long-term, dynamic Olympic career, which we hope Mikaela has. It helps to have a good amount of experience with Olympians, which we have.”
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Shiffrin, 18, is considered a favorite to medal in Friday’s slalom competition and is a contender in Tuesday’s giant slalom. She’s established herself as the most talented young skier on the U.S. team with seven World Cup wins and 13 podium finishes in the last two years. Albrecht, a former Olympic skier from Austria, has worked with her since '11. He has helped secure her deals with Atomic, Oakley, Leki, Snap Fusion SuperCandy, Proctor & Gamble and Barilla, the Italian pasta brand. Octagon assisted Albrecht on the P&G deal. Carlisle said that their focus will be on adding endorsements with companies that are interested in promoting Shiffrin globally. Carlisle said, “Our biggest challenge globally is figuring out how to leverage her in Europe (where skiing is popular). There are different countries, different companies, and they all have their own athletes. It’s hard to get them to activate globally.” In addition to Phelps, Octagon works with snowboarders Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter, swimmer Natalie Coughlin and others.
A GLOBAL APPROACH: Albrecht had been working with Wasserman Media Group’s Michael Spencer on Shiffrin’s business in the U.S., but they cut ties last year. He initially was interested in finding someone who could assist him in securing deals in the U.S. market, but he ultimately decided to partner with Carlisle and pursue deals globally because of Carlisle’s management of Phelps and others. Albrecht: "They have a great legal team and that’s not my main expertise, and everything they’ve done in marketing with Phelps has been great stuff. Mikaela is my client, and I want to give her the best service. I want to find the right people to work together with to provide her the best of the best.” Shiffrin is the highest-profile alpine skier Octagon has worked with. The agency currently represents Nolan Kasper, and it previously worked with Kirsten Clark and Megan Garrity. Albrecht’s other clients include Veronika Zuzulova and Lina Durr.
