Carmichael Lynch Expands Full Service Offering to Philadelphia

Today, Carmichael Lynch announced that Tierney, a leading marketing communications firm in the Mid-Atlantic, will become part of Carmichael Lynch effective May 1st, 2024. With the addition of this office, the expanded full-service agency will maintain its headquarters in Minneapolis, along with offices in New York and now Philadelphia. Both agencies are owned by Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG).

In conjunction with this news, Mary Stengel Austen, co-founder and CEO of Tierney, announced that she is stepping down from her role leading Tierney on March 31st, and Tracey Santilli, who Austen appointed president of Tierney in 2022, will continue in that role, reporting to Carmichael Lynch CEO Marcus Fischer.

Carmichael Lynch is an internationally recognised leader in creativity, executing stand apart ideas across all channels with award-winning creative and marketing services including Carmichael Lynch Media and Carmichael Lynch Relate public relations. The 62-year-old agency's client list includes top brands such as Subaru, Hostess Brands, Bush’s Beans, HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams, Post Consumer Brands, Saputo, and Valspar.

“We’d like to thank Mary for her 36 years of building Tierney to where it is today,” said Marcus. “And, a big welcome to our new co-workers including Tracey Santilli and the rest of the team. We look forward to expanding our ‘Come Together. Stand Apart.’ motto. We find the best people from every discipline to make the very best brand building, business-altering work with our partners. With Tracey and the Philadelphia team joining us, we are expanding our creatively driven integrated work to ensure that all of our clients benefit from this new opportunity.”

Headquartered in Philadelphia with offices in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and New York City, Tierney Communications has approximately 100 employees and has been a lead agency for clients including Independence Blue Cross, Cencora, Comcast, McDonald’s, Choice Hotels, and TD Bank. Under Mary’s leadership, the agency’s work has been recognized with multiple regional and national awards.

“I consider co-founding and building Tierney a privilege and an honour. As I look back on my journey, I am most proud of the talented people I have worked with and learned from, the breakthrough work we have produced, and the clients who have trusted us to guide and partner with them through the years. We have also developed and launched many marketing and communications leaders and spawned multiple businesses and industries in this market and beyond,” said Mary.

Mary co-founded the agency in 1989. She would rise through the ranks to become CEO after her original partner, Brian Tierney, left the agency in the early 2000s. Mary will stay on through the end of March as Tracey transitions into the top role. “Tracey is the perfect person to evolve the business and architect what is next,” continued Mary

“We are grateful for Mary’s years of service to the agency and community, and I am looking forward to this next phase of expansion and collaborating with my new co-workers at Carmichael Lynch. The combination of our creative work and agency cultures ensures more innovation and an environment where this collaboration will thrive for our clients,” said Tracey.