Over the last year and a half, working quietly behind the scenes, George Hirthler helped shape the winning international communications strategy for Vancouver 2010. From the thematic platform of The Sea to Sky Games to the speeches in the final presentation, Hirthler’s deft touch was evident in the assured voice and unwavering professionalism of Vancouver’s successful campaign. Just as he did for the Beijing 2008 Olympic bid campaign, Hirthler worked in close collaboration with the Vancouver leadership team—particularly President and COO John Furlong and Communications VP Andrea Shaw—to shape the brand position and ten key messages that drove the international communications effort, filtering value propositions to the IOC through collateral, e-mails, videos, presentations, and media relations. “George Hirthler’s counsel was trusted at the highest levels of this campaign,” said Furlong. “His words and insights were a great asset for the bid.” Vancouver 2010 was Hirthler’s sixth international Olympic bid. After completing work on the dynamic Atlanta 1996 campaign, he served as a lead communications strategist for Istanbul 2000, Stockholm 2004, and Klagenfurt 2006 before moving on to the winning bids from China and Canada. “There is no question that George helped keep us on track time and time again,” said Andrea Shaw. “He was a tremendous source of knowledge and wisdom and served as a continuing inspiration to all of us.” As a brand communications strategist with unrivaled depth of experience in the Olympic bid process, Hirthler assists cities in all facets of bid planning, concentrating on formulating strategies for the key milestones of the bid effort—the brand position, application submission, media relations, bid book development, communications campaign, evaluation commission and final presentation. Hirthler & Partners is headquartered in Atlanta and has an office in New York. For more information, visit www.hirthler.com or write to george@hirthler.com