Managing Director

Elevado•Los Angeles, CA

7d•$215,000 - $265,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Elevado is a creative studio at the intersection of AI, VFX, and production, connecting brands with artists, producers, and AI tools to create innovative work. As a production company and innovation lab, Elevado is powered by AI and elevated by artists, with a unique AI-native production model. Clients include Adobe, Netflix, Apple, Universal, and Hilton. The company is seeking a commercial leader to translate its unique positioning into a sustainable, scalable business, matching its accelerating creative output and growing reputation.

Requirements

Proven commercial leader in the production, creative, or advertising space who thrives on building new relationships and closing meaningful work.
8+ years of experience in business development, executive producing, or commercial leadership within a production company, creative agency, or post/VFX studio.
A track record of building and winning new client relationships at the brand and agency level.
Deep understanding of the commercial production landscape — how brands buy, how agencies work, how projects get greenlit.
Fluency in AI-driven production, emerging content formats, and the evolving brand content ecosystem.
Strong financial acumen — comfortable with project economics, margin analysis, and revenue forecasting.
Exceptional communication and presentation skills — you can walk into any room and make Elevado's case compellingly.
Entrepreneurial mindset — you're comfortable building from a strong but early foundation.
Based in or willing to relocate to Los Angeles.

Nice To Haves

Energized by the sell — but you sell with taste.
Understand what makes great work, and you know how to articulate that to a CMO, a Head of Production, or an agency ECD.

Responsibilities

Own the full new business pipeline — building it, managing it, and closing it.
Develop and execute a proactive new business strategy targeting brands and agencies.
Build and manage a healthy pipeline of inbound and outbound opportunities across live action, animation/VFX, and AI-driven production.
Lead all pitch activity — from briefing the creative team to presenting credentials and negotiating contracts.
Cultivate and maintain relationships with brand-side marketing leaders, agency production heads, and creative directors.
Identify high-value categories and verticals where Elevado's AI + production model creates a clear competitive advantage.
Represent Elevado at industry events, festivals, and forums to build visibility and generate opportunities.
Partner with reps (Minerva, CCCo) to align outreach and avoid channel conflict.
Translate the studio's creative vision into a coherent commercial narrative and market positioning.
Build scalable systems for quoting, scoping, and converting opportunities — from first contact through signed SOW.
Partner with the EP and CCO to ensure new business commitments are production-ready and margin-sound.
Set and track revenue targets, conversion rates, and pipeline health on a regular cadence.
Identify partnership opportunities — co-production, technology, or platform deals — that expand Elevado's reach.
Own revenue forecasting in partnership with the EP and founding team.
Monitor project margins and flag resourcing or pricing misalignments early.
Support pricing strategy across project types — ensuring rates reflect both market positioning and studio economics.
Help define and track KPIs that measure both commercial and creative health.
Ensure a seamless handoff from sale to production — setting clear expectations and maintaining client confidence throughout.
Develop account expansion strategies for existing clients, identifying upsell and repeat opportunities.
Serve as a senior point of contact for key client relationships when needed.
Gather market intelligence — client feedback, competitive positioning, industry trends — and feed it back into studio strategy.
Serve as a key member of the leadership team alongside the CCO and Executive Producer.
Help shape a high-performance, high-care studio culture that attracts and retains exceptional talent.
Collaborate with the CCO on the studio's long-term vision, ensuring commercial strategy is in service of creative ambition.
Maintain operational oversight that allows the founding team to focus on creative leadership and innovation.