Creative Operations Summit Los Angeles 2026
Agenda
We are delighted to announce the first sessions!
If you are interested in speaking at Creative Operations Summit Los Angeles 2026, please contact Victoria Rose at VictoriaR@henrystewart.co.uk.
The Other Side of Different
Reality
Innovation is celebrated when it succeeds, but the most valuable lessons are frequently learned when it doesn’t.
Exploring what happens after we take a risk, try something new, or challenge the status quo - and the outcome isn’t what we expected.
Response
A practical framework to:
- Turn setbacks into better judgment
- Implement stronger decision-making
- Gain greater resilience
Daring to be different is essential. Learning how to help creative teams continue to experiment and not become excessively risk-averse is both an art and a science.
Chris Tinsley, Director of Creative Production & Operations, SharkNinja
The Human Side of Transformation
Observation
Everyone talks systems. Very few talk human adoption, the foundation that supports everything else.
Covering:
- Why transformation fails emotionally before it fails operationally
- Building trust during workflow change
- Inclusion and different working styles
- Managing fear during AI adoption
- Creating room for curiosity - the antidote to resistance
- Leadership during periods of ambiguity
- Brand at the heart of it all: being true to who you are and understanding how you fit in
Putting people first - through trust, empathy, and a clear sense of purpose - turns transformation from something teams endure into something they actively shape.
Heidi Tuneberg, Creative Operations Executive
The Missing Context Problem in Creative Ops
When Every Tool Has AI
Context
AI is rapidly being added to every layer of the creative technology stack. Organizations are accelerating AI-assisted workflows, while many struggle with fragmented systems, inconsistent context, and disconnected operational intelligence.
What happens when AI becomes an active participant in Creative Ops workflows
- Why the future of scalable content operations depends less on adding more AI tools, and more on building the contextual foundations that allow those systems to work coherently.
- Static workflows must evolve to more intelligence-driven content ecosystems, shifting from managing workflows to designing interoperable systems for AI-enabled work.
- The ‘how to’ answers to the challenges.
Erin McElrath, AI Creative Systems & Ops, LinkedIn
Scaling Creative Operations During Rapid Growth
Daring to Operate Differently
The challenge
When organizations grow quickly, complexity increases naturally. Clarity does not.
Our response
Drawing on SCAN Health Plan's hypergrowth journey, an account of how Creative Operations can drive cohesion, scalability, and responsible innovation in a highly regulated environment.
Keys to success
- Thoughtful operational design
- Cross-functional collaboration
- A people-first approach
- Practical adoption of AI
How rapidly evolving teams can balance speed and governance, whilst enhancing clarity and alignment - without losing sight of creativity, trust, and the people they serve.
Kristen Zaik Vazquez, Creative Operations Manager, Brand Creative & Marketing, SCAN