• by Fern Siegel , July 23, 2026

Callen has hired nine new staffers, including award-winning creatives, to support the Sandisk, Olipop, Whatnot and Crocs accounts. 

Brian Culp, Katie Bero, Eli Ferrer and Jeffrey Hodgson join the agency as creative directors from TBWA\Chiat\Day. There, Culp and Bero worked on Skittles and State Farm. Ferrer and Hodgson partnered on Popeyes and Skittles, since first meeting at Gut. 

Ryan Raab and Brett Beaty were also named creative directors, joining from The Martin Agency. Their brand work includes Burger King, Newcastle Brown Ale and Johnsonville.

Austin Shore boards the production department as executive producer. She recently served as senior creative producer at Monks, after six years at Wieden+Kennedy. 

On the account side, Kate Schaetzle was earlier named group account director, coming from Instacart, where she led brand activations and partnerships. Demetrius Wallace arrives as account supervisor, previously attached to Allstate and Visa at W+K.

The new hires will report to Craig Allen, Mike Davidson and David Hughes.

Callen president Hughes said: “What’s exciting isn’t just that we’ve added nine incredibly accomplished people, it’s that every one of them believes the same thing we do: The best work happens when you surround great people with the freedom to take big swings and have fun doing it.”

The agency reported an 80.5% revenue increase in the past 12 months.

Based in Austin, Texas, Callen is guided by its “Stupid Smart” philosophy.