Creative Artists Agency Promotes Six To Agent

Creative Artists Agency announced today the company has promoted six staff members to agents across multiple departments, groups and teams including Music Touring, Media Finance, Commercial Endorsements, CAA Sports, Podcast and Global Television.

Several of the staffers were promoted after going through CAA Elevate, the agency’s program for agents and executives in training. The training and practical development curriculum has an emphasis on entrepreneurialism, inclusion, curiosity, collaboration, and a growth mindset.

Chris Burrus, who joined CAA in 2018 as an assistant to music agent Sabrina Butera, has been promoted to agent in the Music Touring department. He represents artists including Nate Smith, Tyler Booth, Erin Kinsey, and After Midtown, as well as being part of the teams that support Jake Owen, Matt Koziol, and Brandon Ratcliff. In addition to his role assisting Butera, Burrus supported Marc Dennis, Meredith Jones, and Emily Van Allsburg in the Music Touring department before being promoted to Music Touring Coordinator in 2021. Burris is based in Nashville, Tenn.

Inder Gill has been promoted to Agent, and will serve on the Media Finance team, specializing in the representation of independently financed films. The team is led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer. Gill started in the mailroom at CAA in 2017, then served as an assistant to Sutherland and Maren Olsen and was promoted into CAA’s Elevate program in April 2021. He is based in Los Angeles.

Sophie Kavanagh, who began her professional career at CAA in 2018 as an assistant in Commercial Endorsements, has been promoted to agent in the department. Her new role will focus on creating opportunities for the agency’s clients in the world of on-camera, print, personal appearances, voice-over, and social media-driven campaigns, both domestically and internationally. Kavanagh was promoted into the CAA Elevate program in June 2021 and will be based in CAA’s New York office

Zakaria Laaboudi has been promoted to the role of International Sports Talent Agent. He joined CAA Sports in 2018 as an assistant to Roman Di Somma and was promoted into CAA Elevate in October 2021. Laaboudi is based in London.

Arlen Papazian has been promoted to Agent in the Podcast group, with a focus on creating live touring opportunities. He represents many of the most successful podcast properties, creators, and production companies. Papazian joined CAA in 2019, initially working in the mailroom and then served as an assistant to Josh Lindgren, Head of the agency’s Podcast department. He was promoted to Coordinator in 2021 and is based in Los Angeles.

Kara Petit was promoted to Agent in the Global Television department and in her new role she will specialize in identifying new opportunities for Korean and French-speaking artists. She works with leading directors, writers, actors, and producers including Hwang Dong-Hyuk, Lee Myung-Woo, Anupam Tripathi, Ryoo Seung-wan, and TAPAS MEDIA, among others. Petit, who is based in Los Angeles, was most recently promoted to Global Television Coordinator in 2021. She started working in CAA’s mailroom in 2018 and then served as an assistant to Michael Gordon.

In May, Chad Kudelka, the co-founder of Nashville and Austin-based agency Red 11 Music, made the move to CAA. Kudelka’s roster includes a number of high-profile country artists and road warriors including Cody Johnson, Koe Wetzel, Kolby Cooper, Pecos & The Rooftops, Randall King, Roger Creager, and Ray Wylie Hubbard, among many others.

Last month CAA also added two agents to its global Music Touring staff with the promotions of Jacob Lapidus and Daniel Rais. Lapidus is based in Nashville and Rais is in London.