US’s Lauren Macuga competes during the Women’s Super-G event of the Saalbach 2025 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Hinterglemm on February 6, 2025.
AFP via Getty Images
Because the United States is the Olympics’ only major nation whose national team does not receive federal funding, sponsorships and endorsements are especially crucial for U.S. Olympic hopefuls as they train for the Games.
For the women of the U.S. Ski Team, having investment banking company Stifel in their corner has proven to be indispensable.
In 2022, Stifel became the title sponsor of the U.S. Alpine Ski Team, becoming the most significant alpine partnership in U.S. Ski & Snowboard history. The next year, Stifel broadened its support to include the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, U.S. Freestyle Ski Team and U.S. Freeski Team.
Along with its title sponsorship, the brand has signed individual skiers, the majority of whom are women, to Team Stifel to offer more personalized support. Additionally, the Stifel HERoic Cup, which debuted in 2024, is now awarded—along with $50,000—to the woman U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete with the most World Cup points after the North American stops on the women’s FIS Alpine World Cup tour.
These initiatives by Stifel are synergistic with U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s HERoic Initiative, created in 2022 to provide more leadership, opportunities and mentorship for its women athletes.
When it comes to alpine circuit, in particular, the majority of events each season are held overseas. However, that is changing; last year, Sun Valley hosted the World Cup Finals for the first time in the U.S. since 2017, and this season, Colorado’s Copper Mountain will serve as a primary alpine World Cup venue for the first time, a major boon to U.S. athletes in an Olympic year.
Still, aside from the two Colorado World Cup events this season at Copper and Beaver Creek, the other races this season will be held in Austria, Finland, Canada, Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Andorra, Germany, Sweden and Norway.
Athletes need support to travel to all these stops on the World Cup calendar as they aim to earn enough points to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. Sponsors such as Stifel can help close the gap, and working with world-class athletes, in turn, elevates the company’s own profile.
Stifel Chairman & CEO Ron Kruszewski, whose personal passion for skiing has helped drive Stifel’s commitment to raising the sport’s visibility, said these relationships reflect the same values that drive the firm: performance, perseverance and partnership.
“Through partnerships with Mikaela Shiffrin, Jessie Diggins, Kristen Faulkner, Brooke Biermann, Lauren Macuga, and Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, we are aligning with role models who are breaking barriers in their sports and inspiring the next generation,” Kruszewski said. “They continuously strive to be their best, lead with resilience and set new standards on the global stage.”
On Friday, Stifel rolled out its new campaign for the winter season, “Where Success Meets Success,” featuring Shiffrin, Diggins, Macuga and male halfpipe skier Alex Ferreira.
“Our sport is hard work, every day, 365 days of the year,” said Diggins, the most accomplished U.S. cross-country skier in the sport’s history, with three World Cup overall titles and three Olympic medals. “And to have a company like Stifel support us along the way and encapsulate that daily grind in an ad spot is something that means a lot to us as athletes.”
“I am thankful to have worked with Stifel for the last few years, and this winter’s campaign really celebrates the hard work and preparation that goes into being a competitive skier across all of the Stifel U.S. Ski Teams,” said Shiffrin, the winningest alpine skier of all time, male or female. “I’m honored to be included and to be part of this campaign alongside some incredible champions on snow.”
Macuga, a 23-year-old rising star in the speed disciplines, added that the campaign “celebrates the drive that’s been with me since I was a kid chasing my dreams and medals, the same passion that pushes me today to go faster in every course that I race.”
The 2025–26 World Cup season and the road to the 2026 Winter Olympics begins this Saturday from Soelden, Austria, with the first run of the women’s giant slalom. U.S. viewers can tune in on Peacock.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michellebruton/2025/10/24/ahead-of-2026-winter-olympics-stifel-champions-female-us-skiers/
