Octagon Appoints Veteran TV Packaging Executive John Ferriter to Expand Octagon Entertainment Capabilities in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --Global sports and entertainment marketing leader Octagon today announced the appointment of John Ferriter as Managing Director of Octagon Entertainment within the agency's pre-eminent Athletes & Personalities Division.  Ferriter will lead this division from the company's Los Angeles offices, where he will work with key new hires George Arquilla, Tom Repicci, Brian Speiser and Kyell Thomas.  This initiative complements the already existing Octagon entertainment consulting capability also located in Los Angeles.

Simultaneously, Octagon announced the formation of an exclusive sports affiliation agreement with Ken Lindner & Associates, the nation's premier news and hosting talent agency, to collaborate on sports, news, hosting and media client opportunities.

The moves herald a major step forward in the growth and expansion of Octagon's entertainment footprint that now combines the power of comprehensive sports, television, music, film and branded content and representation services. Under Ferriter's leadership, Octagon's entertainment team will focus on packaging television entertainment projects of all genres and categories, and also tap into Octagon's stronghold in professional athlete representation, sports and branded content.

"John's unparalleled television packaging, television hosting and talent management skills are a perfect match that will drive the success of our Entertainment Division from day one," said Philip D. M. de Picciotto, President, Octagon Athletes & Personalities.  "With the addition of John and his team, and our new affiliation with Ken Lindner & Associates, Octagon now offers our clients, both talent and brands, the highest levels of thought leadership and representation, as well as opportunities to engage in new television programming and sponsorship formats."  

During the past 15 years Ferriter has packaged a myriad of breakthrough TV show concepts including "Project Runway," "The Weakest Link" and  "The Biggest Loser," and has also been recognized for his ability in building the careers of television entertainment personalities such as Larry King, Piers Morgan, Ryan Seacrest, Nancy O'Dell, and Donny and Marie Osmond.  

"It is wonderful to be joining a world class company with global resources where we can add immediate value by collaborating with the sports and sponsorship experts at Octagon," said Ferriter.  "What attracted me most to Octagon is the company's work culture and spirit.  Octagon is a powerful platform for developing great entertainment."

Ferriter was Executive Vice President, Board of Directors Member and Worldwide Head of Non-Scripted Television at William Morris where he spent nearly 20 years growing the agency's non-scripted TV department into a highly profitable division that was widely regarded as the most successful non-scripted television practice in the entertainment industry.  Ferriter currently serves on the Board of the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE).

Octagon is making an equally strong move on the news and hosting side.  Over the last two decades, Lindner and senior executives Karen Wang Lavelle, Susan Levin, Melissa Van Fleet, Kristin Allen and CJ Woods have developed the careers of many of the most recognizable and well-respected national and local broadcast journalists (history and clients at www.kenlindner.com).  KLA's unique career path representation model has helped hundreds of news professionals ascend to the most coveted national and local anchoring, hosting and reporting positions.  Under the exclusive affiliation between Octagon and Ken Lindner & Associates, the firms will provide a full range of best-in-class services to their clients.

"We are extremely excited to team up with Octagon, as it will allow us to provide the most effective and broad based multi-media and multi-platform representation to our clients," commented Lindner.  "Our common philosophy and complementary service offering are a fantastic fit."

About Octagon

Octagon, the inaugural winner of the "Sports Agency of the Year" Award by the Sports Business Journal, is the world's largest sports and entertainment representation and marketing agency with global expertise in consulting, athletes & personalities, event management, property representation, marketing solutions, licensing and merchandising and talent procurement. As part of The Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services, Octagon employs more than 1,000 people in 60 offices around the world. For further information please visit: www.octagon.com or follow us on Twitter: @Octagon_AP.

SOURCE Octagon