Independent creative agency Zambezi has promoted its executive director of business operations, Laura Stayt, to the role of president. Stayt will oversee the agency’s continued global expansion while also growing her business operational duties, continuing to oversee the agency’s profitability, growth, talent, communications, and business development, and will focus on the client experience of Zambezi’s entire roster across all divisions, which includes brands like Under Armour, TaylorMade, UKG, Ember, Google, and Traeger.
Since joining Zambezi in 2018 as a group account director for the agency’s first global work with Beats by Dr. Dre, Stayt has spearheaded the growth of the agency’s capabilities including FIN Studios, its production division, School, its social strategy, content and influencer marketing arm, and Scale, its media department, all of which are fast-growing and critical parts of the agency’s modern and integrated offerings to brands that have attracted large global creative accounts like Under Armour.
“Compared to six years ago when we were a smaller independent agency, Zambezi has grown exponentially more complex in what we can offer brands and that requires strong day-to-day operational leadership,” said Jean Freeman, principal and CEO of Zambezi. “Time and again, Laura has not only demonstrated that she can confidently steer the ship, but also lead the next phase of becoming a global agency.”
Prior to joining Zambezi, Stayt developed her operational and account management expertise running the global business for brands like Wrigley, Blackberry, PayPal, Airbnb, and Nissan while working at agencies like Crispin Porter + Bogusky, TBWAChiatDay, and AMV BBDO–where she started her career after leaving Oxford University.
“I’m grateful to have grown up in big network agencies–cutting my teeth on large global clients and learning the fundamentals of great client management and running a complex agency business–but I deliberately wanted to join an independent agency,” said Stayt. “Zambezi has a truly special culture that supports passion, collaboration, and an entrepreneurial spirit, which has excelled my growth enormously. I’m excited to continue fostering this mindset and hunger in the agency as we continue to expand.”
Beyond work, Stayt is raising her own new talent as the mom to a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old and is proud to be part of the largest female-owned and led agency in the U.S.
8 Aspiring DPs Receive Emerging Cinematographer Awards
The International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) presented eight aspiring DPs with 2024 Emerging Cinematographer Awards (ECA) during a ceremony, screening and reception held on Sunday (9/29) in the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood.
Also during the ECA proceedings, Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC accepted the Distinguished Filmmaker Award. Prieto is a four-time Best Cinematography Oscar nominee--for Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, and Martin Scorsese’s Silence, The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon.
In his opening awards ceremony remarks, Stephen Poster, ASC--who co-chairs the Guild’s ECA committee with Jimmy Matlosz--estimated that over the 26 years of the ECA, more than 200 up-and-coming lensers have garnered invaluable exposure and recognition early on in their careers. Submissions are open to Local 600 members who are not yet classified as DPs, and a panel of established ICG members from across the country assess the short film entries. The competition has intensified over the past two-plus decades. This year’s eight honorees and their short films were selected from 118 submissions.
The class of 2024 ECA honorees are:
–Dominic Bartolone for the short film Sweet Santa Barbara Brown
–Adam Carboni, INCOMPLETE
–Matthew Halla, The Unreachable Star
–Jessica Hershatter, Pirandello on Broadway
–Allen Ho, Iron Lung
–Nick Mahar, Sands of Fate
–Dylan Trivette, Bearing Witness: A Name & A Voice
–Andrew Trost, Bloom
These emerging cinematographers benefited from more than just the Sunday showcase in North... Read More