Warren Velázquez
For Director, Head of Global Creative Operations at Uber
I find where creative work stalls, and build the system that removes it.
Thirteen-plus years running how creative work moves, the last nine-plus at Senior and Director level. Today I direct AI to build the operations tools my function runs on, and I use them every week.
Fit at a glance24 of 24 posting requirements shown
Why Uber, why now
Brand operations is the job I do now: I'm the sole program manager driving the Brand function in my current role, across event and conference sites, partnering with the commerce and acquisition teams. I'm about eight months into my current role. In the last three months both department heads in my brand marketing department have left. They left over resistance to growing with AI, and to letting the team grow the right way: we are under-resourced, and without the ability to put better AI-supported workflows in place. I respect the place and the people.
Uber is asking for the opposite: the operating leader of one connected Global Brand system, who builds it, with AI, and is judged on what they've built. That is the version of this job I want.
How I match the posting
Every requirement from the posting, in its own words, with the line from my resume or answers behind it.
Required
5 Strong · 2 Partial
- The posting says:
12+ years of experience in creative operations, studio leadership, integrated production, agency operations, creative services, or a closely related field.
StrongMy evidence:Agency-side at Beyond, POSSIBLE, Vertic and Huge; contract programs for GE Healthcare, Prophet and Moving Brands; in-house at Everyrealm and Dow Jones.
In my words Thirteen-plus years running how creative work moves, the last nine-plus at Senior and Director level.
- The posting says:
Significant experience leading complex, multi-disciplinary creative organizations or agency/studio businesses at global or large-market scale.
PartialMy evidence:At Huge and at Everyrealm I ran large programs across 3 time zones, with teams in 4 places. Never at Uber's size. What makes that size workable now is AI, and AI-run operations are what I build and use every week.
Resume Built creative production from zero, sourced and staffed a team of 3D artists, UI/UX, motion, and visual designers
- The posting says:
Demonstrated ownership of resourcing, production, workflow, budgets, vendors and delivery across a large portfolio of creative work.
StrongMy evidence:At Everyrealm I owned the platform vendor relationship through implementation and testing to one coordinated launch, and managed external motion, 3D and video vendors. Budget is one of my five gates.
Resume Served as the connective tissue between internal executives, Google product marketing managers and strategists, and our designers and engineers, continuously reprioritizing to hit time-sensitive dates without team burnout
- The posting says:
Experience partnering directly with senior creative, marketing and business leaders and influencing decisions across functions.
StrongMy evidence:At Vertic I put skeptical utility executives in the room from the first workshop, so sign-off was never a surprise.
Resume receiving and triaging requests from 6 teams, subscription strategy, product design, product management, performance marketing, CRM, and event marketing
- The posting says:
Strong people leadership experience, including leading senior managers and building high-performing operating teams.
PartialMy evidence:At Huge I spearheaded the Google pod, where other managers worked; Huge's structure meant they didn't report to me. Senior managers as direct reports would be new.
Resume Planned and managed a year-long UI/UX research and design phase, leading 4-6 designers with Google's Search UX Design Director and team
- The posting says:
Track record of simplifying complex systems, making clear prioritization decisions and implementing operating-model change.
StrongMy evidence:The change row above has the four fixes.
In my words Moved 10 websites into one system, and build time fell about 80%.
- The posting says:
Strong commercial and operational judgment, with the ability to balance creative quality, speed, capacity, and cost.
StrongMy evidence:Light enough that nobody notices it, strict enough that nothing expensive starts before it's ready.
In my words Each gate has one question: is the brief ready, who should make it, does the plan and budget hold, is the idea still intact, and what did it really cost.
Responsibilities
9 Strong · 2 Partial
- The posting says:
Run the Global Brand Studio operating system. Own the end-to-end model for intake, prioritization, scoping, staffing, workflow, production, and delivery across global brand work.
StrongMy evidence:Built once from zero at Everyrealm, run today: intake through Relay, capacity through the resourcing tool, execution and reporting in the Asana setup I own.
Resume Known for building the operating systems, intake, review cadence, capacity planning, and tooling (including AI), that let cross-functional teams ship on fixed dates without burning out
- The posting says:
Turn strategy into a resourcing plan. Translate business and brand priorities into clear capacity choices across internal teams, freelance talent, production partners and external agencies - making trade-offs explicit rather than spreading teams too thin.
StrongMy evidence:With the resourcing tool I built, the AI agents that run my own products, and a design system that cut build time about 80%.
In my words Relay takes six teams' spreadsheets in six formats and returns one prioritized, resourced plan in Asana.
- The posting says:
Build a faster, simpler way of working. Remove unnecessary layers, handoffs and approval loops; establish clear decision rights, service models, review cadences and ways of working that increase agility without compromising quality.
StrongMy evidence:At Everyrealm I kept only the rituals that earned their slot. In a new system I don't rename what already works or rebuild anything before I've earned the trust to.
In my words Relay takes the files exactly as they arrive, because asking six teams for one template has never worked.
- The posting says:
Lead studio operations and production. Oversee creative operations, production leadership, project management and associated studio disciplines; set expectations for quality, pace, cost, risk management and delivery excellence.
StrongMy evidence:Run at the same time as a 10-site migration and six teams' incoming requests. At Huge it was tv.google, android.com through Android 12, wearos.google.com and a year-long Search Ads phase in parallel; a Google director called it meticulous capacity planning across every workstream.
Resume Supporting ~8 events and 6 launches in the past 5 months, each a fixed-date go-live
- The posting says:
Manage the studio as a business. Create clear forecasting, capacity, and utilization views; improve budget discipline, vendor management, production economics, and resource allocation; give leadership an accurate view of demand, constraints, and trade-offs.
PartialMy evidence:I baselined build time before the migration and compute capacity rather than assume it. I measure how long work waits and on whom, not how fast people work. I haven't run a formal delivery-metrics program.
Resume Own the brand marketing team's Asana implementation for reporting, capacity, and resource management
- The posting says:
Design the right internal/external ecosystem. Define when work should be created internally, scaled through specialized partners, or led by external agencies. Build a flexible talent model that gives Uber access to the right capabilities for the problem.
StrongMy evidence:“Who should make it” is the gate this line lives at. Light enough that nobody notices it, strict enough that nothing expensive starts before it's ready.
In my words I run work through five gates, each with one question: is the brief ready, who should make it, does the plan and budget hold, is the idea still intact, and what did it really cost.
- The posting says:
Modernize creative workflows with technology and AI. Partner with creative and technical leaders to identify high-value AI and automation use cases across concepting, asset generation, adaptation, production, asset management, and workflow - while maintaining quality, brand integrity, and appropriate controls.
StrongMy evidence:Handoffs: Relay writes typed fields into Asana, so nothing is re-typed. Resourcing: decisions are captured in the meeting and staged for a yes. Status: scheduled AI agents run the checks on my own products, each behind a human approval gate.
Resume Built a robust AI tool for the intake process, receiving and triaging requests from 6 teams
- The posting says:
Strengthen production infrastructure. Ensure teams have the right tools, DAM / asset-management practices, templates, vendor structures and repeatable production systems to create and scale work globally.
PartialMy evidence:Tools, templates and one repeatable system I've built and run. A DAM program at global scale is the piece I haven't owned.
In my words Six teams' requests were slow because ambiguity entered at the door, so I built a brief gate. Resourcing was slow because decisions made in the meeting were written up late, so I made the meeting update the plan. Event sites were slow because every property was its own build, so I moved 10 websites into one system and build time fell about 80%.
- The posting says:
Be a senior partner to creative and brand leaders. Work side-by-side with Campaigns & Creative and Brand Design & Expression leaders so operational choices enable - rather than dilute - creative ambition and craft.
StrongMy evidence:At Everyrealm the review gate asked one question, is the idea still intact, answered by the people who own it.
Resume Planned a year-long UI/UX research and design phase exploring the future of Google Search Ads, defining the sprints with the design lead and Google's Search UX Design Director
- The posting says:
Build and lead a high-performing team. Develop strong creative-operations and production leaders, set a high bar for judgment and ownership, and build a culture that stays calm under pressure, stays solutions-oriented, and earns the trust of creative and marketing partners.
StrongMy evidence:Today I'm the sole program manager driving my brand function, its lead in practice.
Resume Built creative production from zero, sourced and staffed a team of 3D artists, UI/UX, motion, and visual designers and introduced new production processes and methodologies
- The posting says:
Own change, not just process. Help lead the evolution of the Global Brand organization - identifying where the operating model is breaking, proposing better solutions, and driving adoption across teams and stakeholders.
StrongMy evidence:Four times, the same move: find where the work waits, name why, remove it. The fourth was Everyrealm, which had no intake, review rhythm or capacity view until I designed all three as one system.
In my words Relay ranks every item with a reason and a capacity cost, and sends low confidence or over capacity to my tray, so the bottleneck shows before it costs anyone a week.
Nice to have
5 Strong · 1 Partial
- The posting says:
Experience as a studio Managing Director, Head of Creative Operations, Executive Producer, agency operations leader or comparable senior role.
StrongMy evidence:Built creative production from zero there: intake, review rhythm and a capacity view, designed as one system.
Resume Director of Creative Operations, Everyrealm, Mar 2022 - Mar 2023
- The posting says:
Experience working across both in-house creative teams and major external creative / production agencies.
StrongMy evidence:Agency-side since 2013, except two in-house roles: Director of Creative Operations at Everyrealm, and Dow Jones today. At Vertic, APS went into production with Infosys and 28+ engineers.
Resume Senior Project Manager, Android Pod, Huge @ Google: design and development updates to tv.google, android.com through Android 12, and wearos.google.com
- The posting says:
Experience designing global-local creative operating models, including high-priority campaign work and high-volume / scaled content production.
PartialMy evidence:A global campaign, a global website and hundreds of media assets through one pipeline with review gates. Designing the global-local model for a whole brand organization would be new.
Resume GE Healthcare's Better Health Study through one gated publishing pipeline
- The posting says:
Strong understanding of modern creative technology, AI-enabled production, digital asset management and workflow automation.
StrongMy evidence:Relay, a resourcing tool, scheduled AI agents for my own products, and a generator for application pages like this one.
In my words Relay writes typed fields into Asana, so nothing is re-typed.
- The posting says:
Experience in a fast-moving, matrixed global company with multiple lines of business, markets and stakeholder groups.
StrongMy evidence:Across event and conference sites, partnering with the commerce and acquisition teams, with six teams' requests coming through one door.
Resume Sole program manager for the Brand function: intake, capacity and 10 websites migrated into one system.
- The posting says:
Enough creative fluency to understand what great work needs and protect the conditions required to produce it - without confusing operations with creative ownership.
StrongMy evidence:At Everyrealm the review gate asked one question, is the idea still intact, answered by the people who own it.
Resume Petfinder.com redesign, rebrand and launch campaign; planned its video and photo shoots as producer.
24 of 24 posting requirements shown
What I've done that this role needs
6 to 1
Teams' spreadsheets in six formats, turned into one resourced plan by Relay, every week.
~80%
Less build time after I moved 10 websites into one system.
8 + 6
Events and launches in my first five months in my current role, each a fixed date.
0 to 1
A creative studio built from nothing at Everyrealm, shipped across 12 platforms at once.
How I would do the work
How I'd run Global Brand's operating system
Pick a line from the posting to see what I'd do there, and where I've done it.
Stage 1 of 4
From the posting
Run the Global Brand Studio operating system. Own the end-to-end model for intake, prioritization, scoping, staffing, workflow, production, and delivery across global brand work.
- What I do
- Put a brief gate at the door: every request is read against what production needs and goes back with exactly what is missing before it reaches a maker.
- What exists when it ends
- One intake, one plan of record, and a brief that is complete before money or hours move.
- Where I've done it
- Relay, in my current role: six teams, six formats, one resourced plan.
Stage 2 of 4
From the posting
Own change, not just process. Help lead the evolution of the Global Brand organization - identifying where the operating model is breaking, proposing better solutions, and driving adoption across teams and stakeholders.
- What I do
- Measure how long work waits and on whom, then fix the cause where it lives, not the symptom where it shows.
- What exists when it ends
- A short list of stalls, each with its source, its fix and a before-and-after number.
- Where I've done it
- The event sites: 10 websites into one system, build time down about 80%.
Stage 3 of 4
From the posting
Modernize creative workflows with technology and AI. Partner with creative and technical leaders to identify high-value AI and automation use cases across concepting, asset generation, adaptation, production, asset management, and workflow - while maintaining quality, brand integrity, and appropriate controls.
- What I do
- Hand triage, status and handoffs to AI, with a person's yes kept where a decision is made.
- What exists when it ends
- Status nobody has to chase, and handoffs that arrive as typed fields, not retyped notes.
- Where I've done it
- Relay and the resourcing tool, both in real weekly use.
Stage 4 of 4
From the posting
Be a senior partner to creative and brand leaders. Work side-by-side with Campaigns & Creative and Brand Design & Expression leaders so operational choices enable - rather than dilute - creative ambition and craft.
- What I do
- Stand between the requests and the makers: reprioritize against the date so the team never pays for it.
- What exists when it ends
- A creative team that hears one plan, not six teams' asks.
- Where I've done it
- Huge at Google: tv.google, android.com through Android 12, and wearos.google.com on Google's calendar.
Where I've worked
2017 – Present
Reach me
Happy to walk through it live if this turns into a conversation, the tools included.
- linkedin.com/in/w-velazquez