High-performing creative teams often reach a tipping point, where output is strong, but the lack of structure, visibility, and alignment begins to limit both efficiency and creativity.

Wajmah Strange and Jeff Costello explain what it really takes to move from that state of controlled chaos to a more scalable, sustainable Creative Operation.

Drawing on shared experience across organizations including AOL, ABC News, and CBS/Paramount Global, this session reflects years of navigating these challenges in different environments.

What now?

Assertion

A gap is widening inside brand organizations. The C-suite is meeting vendors, seeing demos, and greenlighting AI transformation at speed - while the teams and agencies responsible for execution are often the last to know what changed. 

What is to be done?

A candid look at the knowledge gap reshaping Creative Ops: 

We are in the midst of a significant shift across organizations and technology, and how value is defined. As AI continues to scale, so do important questions about its impact on the human experience at work. At the same time, employee expectations are evolving - particularly among creative teams - toward work that supports agency, originality, and meaning.

As generative AI reshapes how we create, the question is no longer just what's possible; it's what we're willing to put our name on. 

Abhilasha explores how creative leaders can harness AI's power while keeping human judgment, brand integrity, and authentic representation at the center of every decision. 

A practical framework for using AI responsibly, so we can move boldly without losing the trust, authenticity, and human voice that make creative work matter.

David Yurman’s content landscape evolved from a manageable campaign cadence into a high-volume, always-on operation serving creative, ecommerce, wholesale, training, legal, and more. 

Creative teams are under more pressure than ever. More channels, more formats, more volume, faster turnaround, while the tools and workflows built to support them have stayed largely the same. The result is a system straining under its own weight: time lost to repetitive production tasks, endless revision cycles, and compliance reviews that should never require human attention in the first place.

How Creative Leaders Decide What Tech Really Matters

Context

• Creative teams have more technology available than ever before
• But more tools don’t mean better outcomes
• In a market full of ‘AI-powered’ promises and constant innovation, the real challenge isn’t access to technology; it’s knowing what you really need and why

A panel to establish first principles