• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, March 9, 2017

Zambezi hired Gavin Lester as its first chief creative officer in its 10-year history. He also has been named an equity Partner in the agency.

Lester joins the agency following freelance work at 72andSunny. Lester recently worked with Zambezi on a freelance basis on its "Come As You Are" campaign for Las Vegas Sands Corp's Venetian Resort. He previously served as executive vice president, executive creative director at Deutsch LA, where he led creative for Sprint.

Throughout a 20-year career, Lester has worked in London, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, for agencies 180LA, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and BBH London and NYC. He created national and global work for Levis, Lexus, Sony, Netflix and Google, among others.

"Zambezi's mission is to be one of the most admired independent agencies in the world," said Chris Raih, founder of Zambezi. "A new partner like Gavin signals our commitment to the creative work. Plus a commitment, not just to growth, but the right kind of growth. He will lead us from Day One."