Creative + Opps
= BFF’s Forever
In my years of building brands, the most important lesson I’ve learned is this: nothing extraordinary comes to life without an exceptional operations team. My career began on the production side, and I’m endlessly grateful for that foundation. It taught me the realities of bringing an idea from concept to execution and just how quickly even the most brilliant creative vision falls apart without operational partnership.
When I start working with a brand, my first question is always, “Let’s meet your team.” Those humans become your ride-or-dies. They’re the ones who know how to build the store, renovate the hotel, or yes, construct a LeBron James museum in a parking garage. (I’ve done that.) They turn brand vision into something you can touch, feel, and walk through.
Understanding production at a granular level allows me to guide creative direction and timelines with intention. One cannot exist without the other. Yet in many brand environments, there’s a well-worn friction between ops and creative. Both teams share the same directive, objective, and desired outcome, but they are rarely aligned on the path to get there.
You need someone who speaks both languages. This is where I shine. I learned early that without support from the front-line teams, even my strongest ideas would never reach their full potential. The integrity of a space or an experience would be at risk if every stakeholder doesn’t believe in it, understand it, and feel ownership in the process.
When I joined Spotify as Executive Producer for Global Experiential, this truth became even more obvious. To bring major activations to life, I needed input from a dozen teams. We all had the same intention, but we were not aligned on decision-making or workflow. So I started by mapping every team involved, meeting with each department head, and identifying two people: the final decision-maker and my day-to-day road dog. The goal was simple: build the dream team, establish accountability, and remove ambiguity.
From there, I hosted a cross-functional kickoff to align on priorities, expectations, and success metrics. This wasn’t just a meeting; it was a culture shift. Once everyone felt included, budgets stretched further, resources multiplied, and ownership expanded. I like to joke that I’m the in-house grifter because I always found ways to get support outside my assigned budget. But the truth is, collaboration makes resources exponential. When everyone has a voice in the process, everyone shows up differently.
Every meeting after that was designed intentionally either as a working session or a streamlined update. Not everyone needed to be in every meeting, but everyone stayed informed, accountable, and empowered to shape their part of the puzzle. I’ve always believed in creating spaces where people feel seen and heard, from the initial brief to the final recap.
By understanding the logistical part of branding, I have been able to create extremely epic experiences that I am so proud of. The people part is the best. Building trust, showing love and support, and giving space to let individuals on the team show what they are an expert in is what drives me to continue to want to build more things. Building a strategy with the team in mind to bring more incredible things to the marketplace. Great work is never a solo act. It is always a team effort.
Understanding the logistical realities of branding has allowed me to build experiences I am deeply proud of. But more than the outcomes, it’s the people that keep me doing this work, the trust, the shared ownership, the pride that comes from watching a team expand into their expertise and build something bigger than any single department could ever imagine.
Creative and operations aren’t adversaries. They’re co-authors of great brands. And when they work as true partners, the result is nothing short of magic.