Maryland Updates: Chris Stoner Joins Benchworks; Kaye and Rae Join SalientMG

Christopher Stoner joined Benchworks as Business Development and Event Manager for the agency with offices in Chestertown, Md. and Philadelphia. He joins from McDonell Consulting Group in Baltimore, a licensee of Sandler Training, where he was Manager, Marketing and Business Development.

Former Advertising Age reporter Kate Kaye joined Columbia-based SalientMG as a strategic partner, where she will be leading the strategy and program development for the firm’s executive visibility and go-to-market technology clients. She is also the host of a new podcast on behalf of a SalientMG technology client. According to an announcement, Kaye worked for 18 years as a reporter chronicling the evolution of digital media and marketing since before the dot com bust. In that time, she shed light on digital privacy concerns, consumer and mobile data collection practices. One of the first reporters to track how political organizations use digital advertising, Kaye wrote “Campaign ’08: A Turning Point for Digital Media,” a book covering the paid digital media efforts of the 2008 presidential campaigns. The agency also announced that Elyssa Rae is joining SalientMG as a director, leading the firm’s executive visibility accounts and the media relations practice.