Youth-focused agency Fuse Marketing is undergoing its first ownership change in more than two decades, with partners BILL CARTER and BRETT SMITH selling their stakes to partner ISSA SAWABINI, who in turn has brought longtime VP JULIE JATLOW in as a new shareholder. Carter announced the news on LinkedIn yesterday. "It really worked out, didn’t it?" Carter wrote. "We started as kids, worked for great clients and went to fun places. And we never stopped making Fuse a place we wanted to work. And though I am not retiring, it's better to leave the party a little early instead of staying too long." Vermont-based Fuse was founded in '95 by TERESA JENSON, with Smith joining at launch and Carter coming on in '97. Its first major client was Burton snowboards, which became a launchpad for a major action sports business, which then became a general practice focusing on youth consumers across a wide range of cultural, gaming and sports platforms. Some of its clients include Mountain Dew, Starbucks and ZipCar. (Jenson left the ownership in '03.) Sawabini, an SBJ Forty Under 40 winner in '09 and a partner alongside Carter and Smith since '99, said "it's all systems go" with Jatlow on board. She has been a VP/Client Service for nearly 18 years. "We've got great ideas, as we look to the future," said Sawabini. "We're not going to stop doing the things we've been successful at and able to do for 21 years."
