As we come towards the end of another busy and rewarding week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, our biggest and best ever, we’re delighted to reveal a new chapter in the life of Brandfuel.
Our award-winning creative experiential agency is proud to announce a joint venture with Worth Media Group in New York, alongside a business partnership with its parent company Clarim Holdings, with immediate effect.
Clarim Holdings was founded in 2018 by Jim McCann, a highly successful American entrepreneur, public speaker and author. McCann began his business career in the mid-1970s when he took over a small florist in New York. Quickly recognising the potential of digital commerce, he turned his small business into 1-800-Flowers.com, selling directly to consumers online and creating an online phenomenon throughout the United States that many have tried to emulate.
For many years, McCann and Paul Stamoulis, Clarim’s managing partner, have been building a family office that supports businesses aligned with McCann’s values and principles, particularly those where experience, relationships, and brand play a defining role. Worth Media sits at the centre of this approach where, for more than 40 years, it has convened a highly influential audience of senior business leaders through premier thought-leadership events, complemented by Worth Magazine.
The sale of a minority equity stake in Brandfuel to Clarim heralds an exciting phase in the life of the agency, which will soon be celebrating its 21st year in business. As well as a headquarters in New York alongside Worth, and a dedicated team of US Fuellers, the privately owned agency will have the opportunity to expand its rapidly growing portfolio of creative experiential projects across the United States.
McCann will join the Brandfuel board of directors as Chairman, providing an invaluable understanding of the US market and advice on business opportunities and practices there. Not only will that give Brandfuel a stronger physical presence in the United States and greater geographical reach, it will provide access to new business sectors.
This will firmly establish Brandfuel in the US as an experiential agency with an international reputation for looking after the world’s biggest companies at the most influential events with the highest levels of service and production.
The agency’s overseas work has been growing consistently in the past few years, particularly in the United States, so the timing of this relationship neatly fits its ambitions.
Brandfuel was founded in 2005 by David Ball, who died in November 2025. His co-founder Sue Sawyer, the agency’s CEO, says that he was hugely excited by the opportunities offered by working with Worth and Clarim.
“We had been discussing the finer details of this transatlantic arrangement for several months when David died,” says Sawyer, “and he was determined that we should not miss such a wonderful opportunity for the future of Brandfuel. We are so sad that he did not live to see the deal sealed, but we are delighted to fulfil the plans we had been working on with him.”
For McCann, Ball’s legacy is also an important aspect of the joint venture. “Brandfuel has built an extraordinary reputation under David and Sue’s leadership – one rooted in creativity, integrity, and an uncompromising commitment to excellence,” says McCann. “David’s vision lives on in the culture of the business, and it’s an honour for Clarim to support the next chapter of a company he cared so deeply about.”
Stamoulis adds: “Brandfuel understands how to deliver at the highest level for exceptional clients. Worth understands how to convene the right audience around the most important conversations. That intersection is where we see real long-term value together and the opportunity to extend and strengthen something enduring in the US market.”
Author: Sam Hyland
Sam is the assistant content manager for Event Industry News (EIN). Sam is involved in publishing news stories, videos and podcasts. Sam also collates the latest stories for the EIN e-newsletter. If you have a press release or story you think we might be interested to know about please email features@eventindustrynews.com
