Chalcea Park, Lori Golden and Paul Williams spent a combined 40-plus years at TMA (The Marketing Arm), the Omnicom-owned agency that bills itself as the world’s largest buyer of celebrity talent. Then they left to build something smaller, more nimble and entirely their own.
Abalone Partners launched quietly in 2023, with the three partners operating under the radar for nearly eight months before announcing themselves with a bang: the 2025 GoDaddy Super Bowl campaign featuring Walton Goggins. Lori secured the talent through her work with Quality Meats. The campaign went on to win the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Creative B2B.
“What’s a better time to announce a talent consultancy than a Super Bowl spot?” Paul says. The answer, clearly, was none.
The agency is proudly independent, women-owned and certified as a minority business enterprise. Their specialty? Signing, negotiating and casting high-profile talent for brands and agencies—celebrities, athletes, musicians, creators, influencers, chefs, gamers and experts—plus music licensing, IP deals and entertainment partnerships.
“Our mission is to help clients get the right talent at the right price for the right contract terms,” Chalcea explains. “We’re trusted advisors. A secret weapon.”
From holding company to “let’s do this thing”
The founding story is refreshingly straightforward: they all worked together, went their separate ways (some by choice, some not), and stayed in touch. Chalcea had already launched the boutique agency when she reached out. “She said, ‘Hey, I don’t want you to jump into anything, but if something comes up and you want to be a part of something, I’m doing something now,'” Paul recalls. A few months later, the timing aligned. Paul’s situation opened up. Then Lori’s. Then a project landed. “We said, ‘Hey, are you ready to partner up and do this thing?'”
What Abalone is known for: talent agnostic, brand-first
Abalone occupies a specific niche in the talent ecosystem. They don’t represent celebrities—they work exclusively on behalf of brands and agencies.
“We’re the brand’s agent in all of this,” Paul emphasizes. “There’s no talent that we’re representing. We’re going out and making the best deal.”
That distinction matters. It means Abalone brings no conflicts of interest to the table, just subject matter expertise across traditional celebrities, actors, musicians, macro influencers, athletes and specialty talent like chefs and designers.
Their role? Navigate the high-pressure, high-stakes, high-anxiety world of celebrity deals and reduce risk—financially, contractually and otherwise.
Three things Abalone does differently
First: inside intel. When Quality Meats and GoDaddy were casting their Super Bowl spot, Abalone brought unexpected ideas beyond the obvious names. They knew Walton Goggins was about to have a breakout year with The White Lotus and Fallout.
“Coming up with the unexpected, and knowing the inside track of who’s just on the cusp—that’s what you can’t Google or ask ChatGPT about,” Chalcea says.
Second: senior-level execution. No bait-and-switch staffing. “You get people who really know what they’re doing,” Lori says. “They know the pitfalls.”
Third: relationship depth. These are people who worked with Betty White on her late-career commercial resurgence and Marshawn Lynch on his legendary Skittles partnerships. Those relationships don’t evaporate.
The indie advantage: “Doing the work we love to do”
For Lori, leaving holding company life was about getting back to the work itself.
“At the holding company, we weren’t able to be in the weeds on these programs the same way,” she says. “When really it should be the opposite—where the most qualified people, the biggest experts, do that work.”
Independence changed that equation entirely. Now they can pick their projects, control their output and deliver senior-level thinking without layers of bureaucracy.
“It’s rejuvenated me,” Lori admits. “I get to work with these two amazing people who I not only respect because they’re kick-ass at their jobs, but they’re just really good people.”
Why brands should work with Abalone
The Walton Goggins case says it all. Quality Meats and GoDaddy were willing to take a calculated risk on an actor who wasn’t yet a household name—but who Abalone knew was about to become one.
“We knew everything—White Lotus coming out, the end of Gemstones, all these things,” Lori explains. “His agent was like, ‘Look, this is going to make the brand look really smart. You’re going to get him before he gets insanely expensive.'”
The brand embraced him quickly, and the campaign delivered: Cannes Lions Grand Prix, massive earned media and a new chapter for GoDaddy’s brand story. That’s the Abalone value proposition in action.
Why talent-side pros choose the indie route
Working in talent is chaotic by nature. You’re simultaneously managing celebrities and their personalities on one side, CMOs and CEOs (who are often celebrities themselves) on the other.
“You’ve got to be somewhat weird,” Paul says with a laugh. “A former colleague once said it’s like the hurricane going on around you, and you just have to be the eye of the storm.”
At a boutique, that intensity comes with more control over your work and your life—plus the ability to work with people you genuinely like. No small thing after decades in the business.
Weirdos, misfits, or underdogs?
Paul doesn’t hesitate. “It depends on the day you ask that question—we could be all three in one day, or just one.”
The trio operates with an underdog mentality, which is fitting for a boutique competing with holding company behemoths. “Coming up as a new boutique agency, we’re sort of the underdog,” he says. “That keeps the chip on your shoulder and keeps you hungry.”
But there’s also a necessary weirdness to the work. You’re dealing with personalities on every side—some of them quite large. Being a misfit, ethically getting the job done and maintaining thick skin? All required skills.
CMO shoutout: Sephora, DoorDash and Mattel
The partners were asked which CMOs they’d love to work with.
Chalcea chose Zena Arnold at Sephora: “The products, experience, their purpose and their role in pop culture and community—amazing. They’re doing such cool, bold things with talent and entertainment and sports.”
Paul went with Kofi Amoo-Gottfried at DoorDash: “They’re on the pulse culturally of everything. From incorporating SNL skits into their Super Bowl to all the things they’re doing—I really like the brand.”
Lori selected Lisa McKnight at Mattel: “The whole Barbie movie integration and all the marketing they did around it was pretty unbelievable. So many partnerships. A phenomenal case study.”
Learn more
Abalone Partners
Chalcea Park LinkedIn
Lori Heckman Golden LinkedIn
Paul Williams LinkedIn
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