Managing Director

Elevado Studio; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 159,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401k

Generous vacation

Growth opportunities

Job summary

Elevado is a cutting-edge, AI-native production studio blending AI, VFX, and brand storytelling. We seek a Managing Director to own the commercial side, build client pipelines, and drive revenue while preserving creative excellence.

The role is hybrid, ideally LA-based with potential NYC base; salary range is $215,000–$265,000 with a 20–40% bonus target, and it offers growth alongside senior leadership.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in business development, executive producing, or commercial leadership in production/creative sectors.
• Proven track record building and winning new client relationships at brand and agency levels.
• Strong financial acumen with margins, pricing, and forecasting insight.
• Based in or willing to relocate to Los Angeles.

Responsibilities

• Own the full new business pipeline, from prospecting to closing.
• Develop and execute a proactive new business strategy targeting brands and agencies.
• Build and manage a healthy pipeline across live action, animation/VFX, and AI-driven production
• Lead all pitch activity from briefing the creative team to negotiating contracts
• Cultivate relationships with brand marketers, agency production heads, and creative directors
• Represent Elevado at industry events to build visibility and opportunities
• Partner with reps to align outreach and avoid channel conflict

Skills

Business development

Executive producing

Commercial leadership

Relationship building

Financial acumen

Presentation skills

Strategy & planning

Job description

About Elevado

Elevado is a creative studio built at the intersection of AI, VFX, and production. We connect daring brands with visionary artists, producers, and AI tools to create work that defies traditional limits and delivers unprecedented results.

Part production company, part innovation lab — Elevado is powered by AI, elevated by artists. We don’t bolt AI onto old production models. We’ve built an entirely new one. Our clients include Adobe, Netflix, Apple, Universal, and Hilton.

We are at an inflection point. Our creative output is accelerating, our reputation is growing, and now we need a commercial leader to match our ambition — someone who can translate Elevado’s unique positioning into a sustainable, scalable business.

Position Overview

The Managing Director role at Elevado is fundamentally a new business role. This is the person who will build our client pipeline, define our go-to-market approach, and take our studio from a well-respected creative shop to a must-call partner for the world’s most ambitious brands.

You will own the full commercial function — from outbound prospecting and agency relationships to pitch strategy, deal-making, and client retention. You’ll work side-by-side with our CCO and EP to ensure that every new engagement is set up to succeed creatively and financially.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the commercial identity of a studio that is genuinely differentiated: an artist-led, AI-native production company operating at the highest level of brand and entertainment content.

Location and Salary

This is a full-time, exempt role with a salary range of $215,000-$265,000 and a bonus target of 20-40%, depending on experience. Ideally this person will be LA-based and available to come into the Saylor office in Echo Park twice a week. If not in LA, this person can be based in New York City.

Key Responsibilities

• This is the primary mandate. You will 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

Strategic & Operational Leadership

• 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"li>
• 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

Financial Performance

• 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

Client Success & Retention

• 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

Studio Leadership & Culture

• 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

What We’re Looking For

• You are a proven commercial leader in the production, creative, or advertising space who thrives on building new relationships and closing meaningful work.
• You are energized by the sell — but you sell with taste.
• You understand what makes great work, and you know how to articulate that to a CMO, a Head of Production, or an agency ECD.
• 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

Why Elevado

Elevado is not a legacy production company trying to adapt to AI. We were built for this moment. Our co-founders bring decades of creative leadership from MPC, Alkemy X, and Taylor James — and we’ve assembled a team of artists who are masters of their craft and fluent in the tools defining the next era of production.

The Managing Director will have real ownership over the commercial side of the studio — an unbuilt canvas with a strong creative foundation. You’ll be joining at the moment when the work is exceptional, the reputation is growing, and the infrastructure is ready to scale.

We’re not bolting AI onto old production models — we’ve built an entirely new one.

— Rupert Cresswell, Co-Founder / CCO

Benefits

We offer a competitive salary, health insurance, 401k, generous vacation, and great opportunities for growth within the company.

Saylor is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all team members. Qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, mental or physical disability, and genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, military status, protected veteran status or any other category protected by law.