A Q&A with Dave Greene, Head of Creative Operations
Why does Creative Ops need dedicated focus? Isn’t it just workflow and tools?
That’s the assumption — that if you install the right platform or adopt a new process, the problems go away. But tools only amplify what you already have. Without structure, they amplify the mess.
Creative Ops works when you put consistent ownership in place: someone who’s thinking about how work gets done, not just getting work done.
What kind of responsibilities should Creative Ops cover?
There are three core areas that matter most:
- How work moves — the systems, sequencing, and logic behind delivery
- What work comes in — how requests are received, interpreted, and prioritized
- What goes out — the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of the final output
If those three aren’t being actively managed, creative teams end up in reactive mode. You can still deliver, but it’s harder, slower, and more draining. This is usually when Creative Ops is finally brought into the conversation — when it’s already a bit late.
What’s an ideal setup for a Creative Ops team?
In an ideal world, those three areas are covered by three distinct roles:
- Creative Ops Manager or Producer Lead – owns workflow, capacity, timelines, and tooling.
- Intake or Request Manager – filters briefs, clarifies scope, aligns teams.
- Creative Lead or Brand Quality Owner – protects the quality and consistency of what ships.
The titles vary, but the functions don’t. Once these roles are defined, things begin to run smoother — even before you increase headcount.
How does this structure scale between mid-size and enterprise teams?
In mid-size teams, one person might wear multiple hats. That’s fine early on, as long as everyone’s clear on who owns what. As volume grows, combining roles becomes a risk — things fall through the cracks.
In enterprise teams, the challenge isn’t resources — it’s coordination. You might have strong people in each function, but if they sit in different departments without alignment, the process slows. Everyone’s skilled, but the work still feels stuck.
Are you seeing any shifts in how companies approach Creative Ops?
Definitely. There’s a noticeable move away from the traditional, agency-led model — where strategy and production are separated by weeks of back and forth. That worked when timelines were longer and creative was campaign-based. But now? The pace of content, especially in SaaS, doesn’t allow for that lag.
More companies want embedded partners or internal hybrids — setups where creative can be briefed, delivered, reviewed, and iterated in days, not weeks. There’s a clear appetite for faster, more integrated creative support that understands business context and can work inside existing systems.
We’re also seeing more CMOs and marketing ops leaders driving the conversation. It’s less about “creative” as a department and more about delivery as a system. Creative Ops is the mechanism that makes that system run — and teams are starting to treat it that way.
How is AI influencing the way teams think about Creative Ops?
Clients are asking more questions about how AI fits into creative delivery — but most aren’t looking to automate the work entirely. What they really want is a system that makes it easier to scale human creativity, and that’s where Creative Ops comes in.
AI is pushing teams to rethink volume, speed, and iteration — but it’s also highlighting the gaps in process. You can’t layer AI onto chaos and expect better outcomes. We’re seeing more clients come to us not just for design execution, but for help reworking the way their teams operate. That shift — from “getting stuff made” to “making the system better” — is where Creative Ops really proves its value.
Can teams get started without overhauling everything?
As James Clear puts it: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Yes — in fact, this is exactly what we suggest. Don’t pull over. Don’t take two steps back. Don’t wait for permission to rebuild from scratch.
Pick one layer to improve. Introduce a proper request form. Map one critical process. Tighten what “ready to ship” actually means. You don’t need a complete redesign. You just need to start — and then build on what works.
And what if the ideal setup just isn’t available?
I remember hearing and liking a quote from Rita Mae Brown:
“If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.”
That’s when Creative Ops usually gets brought up — when things are already stretched. The team’s overloaded, requests are vague, and quality’s slipping. Everyone feels it, but no one has the headspace to fix it properly.
That’s exactly why we built a model that works while the work keeps moving.
We take ownership of the three biggest pressure points — intake, workflow, and quality — so internal teams can keep going without grinding to a halt. No extra layers, no big reorg. Just forward momentum, with better structure underneath.
If you’re too busy to stop and fix the system, this is what you do instead.
Need to get your creative operations under control — without pausing delivery?
Let’s talk about how we can step in and take responsibility.
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