Integrated independent agency Zambezi, currently celebrating its 20-year anniversary, has expanded its leadership team with Marina Recalde as Group Account Director and Candace Chasteen as Group Media Director, which reflects the continued growth of the agency and its integrated offerings. Zambezi has also promoted Stephanie Ramos to Head of People and Operations and Christian Damon to Group Account Director. Ramos’ new role supports the agency’s recent expansion and need for increased operational power. All roles report directly to agency President, Laura Stayt.
These appointments underscore Zambezi’s recent momentum, projecting a near 50% YoY increase from 2025 to 2026, and the 40% YoY growth of its media agency, Scale by Zambezi, over the last three years. The addition of Chasteen’s role adds a second Group Media Director to the agency following its win of Nex Playground earlier this year as creative AOR plus media strategy and expansion of brands within the Generous Brands portfolio. Chasteen and Recalde will lead the Nex business together.
Marina Recalde joins Zambezi with nearly two decades of experience with major brands like Meta, TikTok, Expedia, Walmart and Hilton at agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis, Omnicom Group, Monks and Pereira O’Dell, leading high-impact campaigns and performance marketing endeavors across U.S. and international markets. She was selected to co-lead Nex Playground for her deeply rooted tech expertise.
Candace Chasteen, as Group Media Director, leads media strategy and planning across clients, including Nex Playground, Generous Brands and long-term client UKG. She will oversee campaign execution to ensure quality delivery and actionable results, while mentoring and developing the media team and bolstering integration with peers across the company. Drawn to Zambezi’s independence as a women-owned agency, Chasteen remarks, “I was completely sold on the agency’s entrepreneurial spirit. My goal is to help further how we work together across departments to deliver impactful work for clients, and I’m excited Zambezi is giving me that opportunity.”
Stephanie Ramos has been promoted to Head of People and Operations from Director of People, expanding her role to oversee recruitment, resourcing, HR, IT operations, and workflow across the agency. A Zambezi team member for over a decade, Ramos now focuses on both the agency's cultural health and increased operational power, working closely with leadership to strengthen processes and support long-term growth. Notes Ramos, “It’s a shift from just managing the people within the system to architecting the systems themselves. I’m now equally obsessed with our mechanical health as I am with our cultural health.”
Christian Damon has been promoted to Group Account Director leading Zambezi’s 12-year partnership with TaylorMade. Building on his success as Account Director, Damon will leverage his deep passion for the sport and brand expertise to deliver continued creative brilliance that elevates TaylorMade’s market leadership and brand distinction. He most recently oversaw TaylorMade’s first piece of long-form branded content, “Finding Fast”, a 17-minute documentary film chronicling the iconic history of the brand, and the motivation and process behind the creation of the newly-launched Qi4D driver.
