Omelet Bolsters Leadership Team with a Host of People Moves

Above (left to right): Sarah Donze, Sandhya Pathak, Chelsea Kauth, Meryl Tarica

LA-based independent creative agency Omelet is excited to announce a trio of new hires and a promotion: Chelsea Kauth, executive creative director; Meryl Tarica, brand director; Sarah Donze, group brand director; and Sandhya Pathak, who has been elevated to head of brand management. Both Chelsea and Meryl are part of the Omelet “Boomerang Club,” each re-joining the agency in elevated roles. 

“It’s always special when folks who have grown up at Omelet choose to return, bringing new perspectives and lots of lessons with them,” said Thas Naseemuddeen, Omelet’s CEO. “It’s a big dose of energy for all of us, and I’m proud that Omelet is a place where this whole boomerang thing tends to happen quite a bit! I’ve never felt more inspired by our current leadership team, bolstered by these four incredible folks who set the bar for what modern leadership looks like.” 

Chelsea Kauth originally joined Omelet as creative director in 2018 from 72andSunny and CP+B, working on brands like Google, PayPal, Old Navy and Kraft. Chelsea’s impact as a creative leader and department mentor was immediately felt as she took the helm on Princess Cruises, Walmart and Guardian Insurance, and helped win new clients like Asana and YouTube. Chelsea left Omelet in 2022 to join independent agency The Woo as executive creative director, where she reshaped the creative department and agency vision. Chelsea has been recognized as one of the Most Creative Women in Advertising by Business Insider and one of the “Next Creative Leaders” by the 3% Conference and One Show. She rejoins Omelet as executive creative director, sitting on the Executive Committee and co-leading Omelet’s creative department alongside Josh Smutko, executive creative director. 

Meryl Tarica rejoins Omelet as brand director after a stint at The Many, where she focused on Panda Express, eBay and Synchrony Financial. After a career in private banking in her home country of Switzerland, Meryl began her advertising journey on 72andSunny’s brand team for Coors Banquet. She joined Omelet in 2018, handling a wide variety of accounts such as Google One, YouTube, Netflix, Princess Cruises and AT&T. 

Sarah Donze joins Omelet full-time as group brand director after freelancing for the agency in 2023. She cut her teeth at agencies like 72andSunny on brands like eBay. Throughout her career she’s worked in both global and independent shops leading a variety of accounts including gaming, non-profit, retail, entertainment and alcohol. She is most proud of a pandemic campaign she produced to save independent bookstores. 

Sandhya Pathak has been elevated from group brand director to Omelet’s first head of brand management, responsible for building and guiding the brand department and driving cross-agency collaboration while overseeing all client relationships. Sandhya joined Omelet in 2019 after leading Comcast Xfinity’s Hispanic and Asian American marketing efforts at Gallegos United. Throughout her career, she has led integrated, global campaigns for brands such as Nikon and P&G’s Pantene Pro-V at agencies including McCann Erickson & GREY NY. Most notably, Sandhya spearheaded the "Can You Hear That" Ex-Verizon Guy switching to Sprint campaign that ignited Sprint's turnaround during her time at Deutsch LA. At Omelet, she led the agency’s AOR relationship with Princess Cruises and YouTube. She will sit on Omelet’s Executive Committee.