• Practical applications for generative AI in Creative Ops
• Common barriers to gen AI adoption, and what to do about it
• The future of gen AI for Creative Ops teams

As creative operations evolve, our teams are no longer fixed. They're fluid ecosystems of full-timers, freelancers, AI collaborators, and global partners. Managing this fluid, multi-faceted creative workforce requires a whole new operational mindset.

Join Monique Richards, Managing Director of Aquent Studios in Australia, and discover how leading Creative Ops leaders are shifting from rigid structures to ‘elastic teams’ — scalable creative capacity that expands and contracts without sacrificing culture or quality.

What Monique will cover:

Thriving in a Post-Pitch World

This session addresses the significant financial and structural pressures facing creative agencies and in-house teams today. 

Covering: 

The challenge:

In the space where creativity, structure, and machine intelligence collide, how do you protect creative magic while evolving the method?

The need:

Creative Operations must navigate a high stakes balancing act: embracing technology and data without dimming the creative flame; building scalable systems that don’t smother the soul of the work. 

Solutions to square the circle:

Empathy and Storytelling in the Age of AI and Restructure

This may be soft skills, but it's a hard talk - about the two oldest technologies that still run everything: empathy and storytelling. This session reframes office politics as narrative power and shows you how to ethically build influence, manage up, and protect your team. Without selling out your soul.

Telstra’s in-house agency has undergone a major Creative Operations evolution, shifting from delivery powerhouse to strategic transformation partner.

In this on-stage conversation, Head of Agency Gemma Poesaste shares what triggered change, how structure was balanced with creativity, and why tech, data, and AI are redefining the future of creative work.

Expect honest insights, practical takeaways, and a few lessons learned along the way.
 

The Human Touch

Context: Person and Program in Partnership (PPP)

In an era defined by rapid advancements in AI, the question isn’t whether machines will replace us - but how we’ll evolve alongside them. 

There is an irreplaceable role for human imagination and emotional depth in the creative process - qualities that no algorithm can, currently, fully replicate.