• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, January 28, 2016

Erwin Penland hired Mike Lear as executive vice president/executive creative director. Lear will be a part of creative strategy and management for Erwin Penland clients including Denny's and L.L.Bean. He will also work on new business efforts. Most recently, Lear spent 11 years at The Martin Agency, where he worked on GEICO, UPS, NASCAR, Discover Card, American Cancer Society, Mentos and managed SiriusXM, Midas, The Smithsonian and The Onion. Prior to that, Lear was at Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami, working on MINI, IKEA, Google and Virgin-Atlantic. "Of course we're always looking for great creative minds, but more importantly good people who just feel like 'us,'" said Con Williamson, chief creative officer of Erwin Penland. "So when we got a chance to grab Mike, we couldn't pass the opportunity up. He's already jumped in and started making a huge difference in the work, and the culture... it feels like Mike's been working with us for years. He's home."