Verve has promoted three coordinators to full agent status, and each one found out through a different bit of office theatre. Variety reported the exclusive on 30 July 2026.

Shahrez Aziz, Taylor Killefer, and Cooper Yeager all move up from coordinator — the rung just below agent where assistants handle client lists, submission tracking, and the day-to-day machinery of a talent agency. Each will now sign and represent clients in their own right.

Aziz becomes a television literary agent, representing writers and creators in the TV space. He started in Verve's mailroom in 2022, the classic entry point for an agency career. His promotion was revealed during a Monday all-staff meeting, where Chris Noriega — partner and head of television literary — orchestrated a stunt around a fictional animated series to break the news.

Killefer rises to motion picture literary agent, working with screenwriters and filmmakers on the film side. He joined Verve in 2024 after stints at CAA, one of the largest agencies in the business, and Netflix. His first industry job was as a clerk in CAA's mailroom in 2019. Verve's annual ice cream social served as the stage for his promotion: a custom jersey with a note attached carried the message.

Cooper Yeager moves to digital agent, covering clients in streaming, online content, and emerging media. He joined Verve in 2022 as an assistant and worked his way up to coordinator before the promotion. Yeager also helped launch Verve's annual summer bake-off tradition — which is fitting, because his promotion was announced through a hidden message inside a cake at this year's event.

Verve was co-founded by Adam Levine and Bryan Besser. The agency's partners also include Chris Noriega, Valarie Phillips, and Adam Weinstein. According to its LinkedIn page, Verve provides global representation across film, television, publishing, digital, commercial endorsements, and branding. The agency's Instagram page describes Verve as the market-leading agency in animation. Its Los Angeles office sits at 6555 Barton Avenue.

What makes these promotions stand out is the route each took to get there. All three began at the lowest entry points in the agency system — mailroom, assistant desk, clerk — and climbed one rung at a time. Aziz went from mailroom to agent in roughly four years. Killefer's path wound through two major employers before landing at Verve. And Yeager literally helped build the tradition that announced his own promotion.

The promotions themselves are straightforward agency business. The delivery, though, is pure Verve: a fake animated pitch, a jersey on an ice cream social table, and a message baked into a cake.