Creative Ops Summit New York 2025

First Sessions Announced

We are busy developing an exciting agenda for Creative Operations Summit New York 2025 so keep your eyes peeled for details. Register your interest here to be the first to hear about announced sessions!

If you are interested in speaking at Creative Operations Summit New York 2025, please contact Victoria Rose at VictoriaR@henrystewart.co.uk.

In the meantime, check out the first 7 sessions confirmed:

It's Not Your Technology, It's You

Maximising Tech Success in Creative Operations

Question: Why do technology investments in Creative Operations often fall short of expectations?

Answer: It’s not due to the tools themselves. It’s how organisations adopt and support them.

How to adopt new technology correctly:

• Manage the human elements that determine success when adopting creative technology.
• Overcome common behavioural patterns that reduce effectiveness.
• Identify organisational gaps that adversely affect performance

In short: Adopt practical strategies to better align people, processes, and tools.

The measurable benefit: Improved operational outcomes that drive creative excellence.

Gareth Chilton, Director, ManMachine

Automation Killed the Creative Star? 

Think again. 

Creative operations isn’t about grinding out more content with less, it’s about carving out time to play, experiment, and push boundaries. By automating the tedious, we create space for a lab: a playground where weird, wild ideas aren’t just encouraged, they’re necessary. 

This session isn’t about efficiency for efficiency’s sake. It’s about using AI and automation to carve out sacred, protected time for your team to get weird, take risks, and chase the kind of ideas that don’t just check a box, they change the game.  

 As creative leaders, our job isn’t just to hit deadlines; it’s to keep the spark alive.

Let’s talk about how to make that happen. 

John Pagano, VP, Paramount Pictures

The Human Algorithm: The Role of Creativity in a Technology-Enabled World

In an era where emerging technologies are reshaping the creative landscape, the age-old tension between art and science takes on new urgency. 

This provocative panel discussion explores how leaders are navigating the delicate balance between leveraging technological capabilities and preserving the human essence of creativity. As data-driven decision-making and AI-powered tools become increasingly central to Creative Operations, we'll examine both the transformative opportunities and potential pitfalls that lie ahead.

Join industry leaders as they tackle the thorny questions at the heart of modern Creative Operations: 

How do we maintain creative integrity while "feeding the machine"? 

What does the ideal creative team look like in this new paradigm? 

And perhaps most crucially, how do we ensure we don't sacrifice the immeasurable magic of creativity at the altar of metrics and automation? 

This frank discussion will challenge assumptions and offer practical insights for Creative Operations leaders seeking to harness technology's potential while protecting their team's creative soul.

Moderator: Paul Nicholson

Panelists: Kaye Bedeau, Andrew Seleznov, Kifka Kingan 

Breaking the Process Paradox: Freedom Within Framework

Every Creative Operations leader faces the same challenge: how to build processes that enable rather than inhibit creativity. 

This panel discussion brings together diverse perspectives from across the creative industry to explore the sweet spot between chaos and control. 

Explore how different organisations have successfully created frameworks that provide structure while preserving creative freedom and discuss practical approaches to building flexible processes that scale. 

From cultural adoption to technological enablement, panellists will share real-world experiences of transforming the process paradox into creative advantage.

Moderator: Thomas Stilling

Panelists: Clifford Skeet, Alison Leibowitz, Abe Romano, Tyra Hanshaw

Creative Leadership Uncovered

In a landscape where AI, automation, and hybrid working is changing how creative teams operate, what does exceptional creative leadership look like? 

This panel discussion will:

• Explore the evolving role of creative leaders
• Discuss how to balance technical innovation with human creativity
• Manage multi-generational teams, and
• How to develop the next wave of creative leaders

Panellists will share practical insights on building and sustaining high-performing creative teams while maintaining operational excellence. 

Perfect for creative leaders and those aspiring to leadership roles, this session will provide actionable strategies for navigating the changing Creative Operations landscape.

Panelists: Embrie Beamon, Jesse Krinsky, Lydia Chan, Deneesha Lawrence Williams 

From Production House to Agile Powerhouse

Transforming Your In-House Creative Agency

How to transform your in-house creative agency from a traditional production house into an agile powerhouse. 

Tested strategies for:

• Leveraging AI and automation to free your creatives from repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on high-value ideation
• Building a flex-resource model that scales efficiently while maintaining creative excellence
• Developing cross-training programs that empower your team to thrive with emerging technologies

Practical frameworks for:

• Evaluating and implementing the right tech stack
• Creating hybrid creative training programs that blend traditional skills with AI capabilities
• Structuring flexible workflows that adapt to changing demands

The goal: 

Future-proof your internal agency while maximizing creative potential.

Brianne Gallagher, Head of Creative Operations, Wayfair

Creativity: Infusing Inspiration into a Cubicle Culture

The challenge:

How to develop and sustain a creative workplace across both people and processes.

The context:

How creativity manifests at all stages and in multiple forms from campaign concepts to solving scheduling problems - and at its most powerful makes the apparently impossible deliverable.

Covering: 

• Strategies to prioritize creativity, even in mundane tasks
• A clear understanding of when creativity matters - and when it doesn’t
• A toolbox of methods to engage even your least inspired team members
• A list of icebreakers that won’t make your team roll their eyes
• AI tips (probably not many, but maybe, a few)

Kate Schmieding, Creative Operations Director, Office of General Services | Media Services