Creative & Design Production Leader · SF Bay Area

ELLIE HARDY

I lead the human side of complex UX, design, and tech work — and use AI to sharpen everything around it.

15+
Years leading creative
production at scale
0→45
Team size range
built & managed
3×
Studio builder
from scratch
Agencies & Tech Companies
AppleR/GAGS&P EdelmanGoogleAdobe SlackStarbucksUbisoft

Selected Work

Where I've built things.

Apple

Managing Producer — Product, Design & Marketing · 2020–Present

Leading production across branding, identity, UX, motion & emerging technology

Embedded inside Apple's UX and design organization as operational lead and strategic partner to senior leadership — driving velocity across a 700+ person global org.

  • Own executive communications, milestone decks, and C-suite briefings for design leadership
  • Drive cross-functional alignment across Engineering, Design, Legal, Localization, and Research
  • Oversee internal tooling and workflow systems; human-centered approach to AI adoption
  • Lead hiring, performance management, and studio culture across US and international offices
Skills Design Org Operations · Executive Communication · Cross-Functional Leadership · AI Workflows

R/GA San Francisco

Executive Production Director · 2017–2019

Built a content studio from zero to support a major Google partnership

R/GA SF had zero in-house content creation capability when the Google partnership landed. Built it from nothing in 18 months.

  • Hired animators, editors, motion designers, and 22+ producers 0→1
  • Embedded half the team at Google for global campaigns
  • Contributed to $4M+ in new business wins

Work from this role

Slack — IPO Launch Film Brand Film ↗ Ubisoft — Alexios Launch Gaming · Award Winner ↗
Skills Studio Building · Team Hiring & Development · P&L Management · Client Embedding

Edelman

EVP, Executive Producer · 2015–2017

Scaled production infrastructure across three cities in two years

Built Western Region production from near-zero to a fully functioning multi-office operation across SF, Seattle, and LA.

  • Promoted SVP → EVP within first year
  • Scaled from 2 producers to 10-person team across three cities
  • Supported Starbucks, HP, and Adobe

Work from this role

Starbucks — Gold Life Rewards Campaign ↗ Adobe — Make the Cut Creative Cloud Campaign ↗
Skills Business Planning · Multi-Office Operations · Team Scaling · Revenue Generation

Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Associate Partner · 2007–2015

Founded the agency's first creative technology innovation lab

Conceived and built BETA Group from scratch when the agency was losing pitches to competitors with innovation capabilities.

  • Scaled from 1 developer to full multidisciplinary innovation lab
  • Promoted to Associate Partner (one of only 15 in the agency)
  • Won Cannes Lions, D&AD Pencils, Clio Awards

Work from this role

Häagen-Dazs — Concerto Timer Digital Experience ↗ Doritos — #BoldStage Social-First Platform ↗ Adobe — Remix Interactive Campaign ↗
Skills Innovation Leadership · Creative Technology · Team Building · New Business Development

AI Tools

Things I've built with AI.

Live Tool

AI Design Brief Generator

Skip the back-and-forth. Answer five strategic questions and get a polished design brief your team will actually read.

Try it →
Coming Soon

Caregiver Coordination Tool

AI-assisted daily handoffs, pattern summaries, and family updates for caregivers. A tool born from personal experience.

In development

Select Clients

Apple · Google · Adobe · Airbnb · Slack · Starbucks · HP · eBay
Ubisoft · MasterClass · NBA · Cisco · PayPal · EA Sports · Comcast

Let's work together.

Open to senior design operations and Chief of Staff roles at the intersection of AI, UX, and emerging technology.

Get in Touch