Mark Groeschner

860.329.9987 ▪ mgroesch@gmail.com ▪ LinkedIn ▪ Portfolio
 
Creative Operations Director | Emmy Award Winning Producer | Process Enthusiast
 
Award-winning Producer and Operations Manager with progressive experience developing engaging and integrated content for elite brands and guiding end to end initiatives in a fast-paced environment. Combined background of leading major corporate creative projects and agency experience for networks and business clients. Known for cross-functional collaboration, business acumen, design imagination, and workforce organization capabilities to drive best-in-class creative departments that perform at the highest level. 

Core Expertise

People Management ▪ Team Leadership ▪ Forecasting & Budget Management ▪ Strategic Planning ▪ Film & Digital Content Production ▪ Post-Production ▪ Change Management ▪ Presentations ▪ Key Art

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

SR. PRODUCER - Freelance
Various | 7/2023 - Present

Companies include Venue Edge, Roger, Laundry Studio, Buck

• Collaborate with and manage teams of Art Directors, Designers, Animators, Editors, Voice Actors, Audio Engineers, and Colorists to produce Broadcast promos, Social Media campaigns, elements for digital and out-of-home marketing campaigns for clients such as Disney+, BMW Mini, TIAA, Illumination, IBM, Microsoft.

• Managing multiple projects at a time, including bidding, scheduling, resourcing and mentoring production staff.

ESPN CREATIVE STUDIO
9/2007 - 7/2023

DIRECTOR, CREATIVE OPERATIONS - ESPN CREATIVE STUDIO
11/2019 - 7/2023 

• Oversaw forecasting, staffing, budgeting, and strategy for major creative campaigns requiring internal communication and strategic integration of outside vendors and production companies to execute major projects.

• Connected and furthered strategic goals of Marketing, Programming, and Production verticals with oversight of On-Air Promo and Video On-Demand teams.

• Reimagined the operations intake system, streamlining procedures with Smartsheet, Asana, and Confluence to organize 100+ incoming production projects across 11 producers and build a resourcing team to support the initial intake and staffing decisions.

• Grew process improvement and turnaround efficiencies after a major reorganization that united five creative groups.

• Developed a production workflow with the support of the Technology team to transcode digital design and animation files, saving 8-40 hours per project. 

SENIOR MANAGING PRODUCER - ESPN CREATIVE SERVICES
9/2016 – 11/2019

• Initiated the first-ever Project Management Group within Creative Services, playing an instrumental role in creation, implementation, and leadership of all on-going creative projects for ESPN Studio shows and On-Air Events.

• Collaborated with Creative Directors, Animators, Motion Designers, Editors to produce brand identity packages, key art, and live action projects through all phases of production, including oversight of timelines, budgets, review, internal communication, and deliverables.

• Achieved resource scheduling and long-range planning to set up the department with 100+ creatives in support of the majority of ESPN On-Air graphics and animations for properties such as NFL, NBA, MLB, CFB, CBB, and more. 

CREATIVE DIRECTOR - ESPN CREATIVE SERVICES
9/2007 – 9/2016
• Configured creative concepts provided creative direction and oversaw production for on-air brand entities, including NBA on ESPN, MLB on ESPN, Sportsnation, ESPN U, SEC ESPN Network.
• Wrote copy, treatments, and provided art direction to promote strategic plans for show teases.

• Oversaw budgeting and scheduling for $300k-1.5M dollar budgets projects and coordination with external design and animation vendors, internal creative teams, Studio Directors, Event Producers, and production executives. 

EARLY EXPERIENCE - PRODUCER/ SR. PRODUCER
Various | New York, NY | 7/2002 - 2007

Maintained a fast-paced schedule of bidding, scheduling, and managing creative live action and post-production projects for agency and network clients. Drove internal and external communications to keep projects on track, orchestrating production progress alongside Designers, Animators, and Creative Directors. Companies included: Brand New School, Transistor Studios, Gretel, and LoyalKaspar.