TJ Kearney

Director of Operations

 
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Hello.

I am a leader with over 20 years of experience building industry leading content teams. My people first approach builds teams that last and a reputation that attracts talent as well as clients.

Over the course of my career, I have had the good fortune of working with and mentoring some of the most talented creative teams, directors, designers, illustrators, animators, editors and musicians from around the globe. I have extensive experience in managing teams that produce award winning work for national & international broadcast, digital, DOOH, VR, experiential, social, music and cinema release. I have managed multi-million dollar contracts, retainers, celebrity endorsements, 3rd party licensing relationships, you name it.

My true passion lies in building teams from the ground up and creating environments that allow them to thrive in. Time and again I have used this passion to build, staff and manage highly successful production departments, studios and agencies alike.


Thought Leadership

  • Actively consulting for design and animation studios in the USA, CA, AUS & UK.

  • Blend Canada | Featured Speaker | Conference

  • Dash Bash | Featured Speaker | Conference

  • SCAD | Guest Speaker | Lecture

  • Hyper Island | Guest Speaker | Lecture

  • Ringling College of Art & Design | Guest Speaker | Lecture

 

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MasterClass

www.masterclass.com

Director - Marketing Production & Post Operations

USA

2023 - Present

Sample of work:

Kevin Hart

Amy Pohler

Martha Strwart

Ava Duvernay

Noam Chomsky

Since joining MasterClass in 2023, I've led marketing production operations, where I’ve driven efficiency while maintaining the creative excellence the brand is known for. The team I lead is responsible for producing all marketing materials across brand, class launch, social & enterprise campaigns from concept through delivery. With a focus on optimizing budgets and timelines, I've spearheaded initiatives in AI, Automation & Personalization, enabling scalable deliverables at a volume and rate that was previously not possible for the company. By expanding our team, nurturing strategic vendor partnerships and establishing process documentation, I've ensured the teams are set up for seamless project execution across all marketing asks. Acting as the bridge between creative vision and business objectives, I've established myself as a key driver in cross-functional collaboration for project success.

A small sampling of my responsibilities:

  • Managing annual marketing production budget, optimizing costs, and reducing timelines by over 50%.

  • Leading AI, Automation & Personalization strategies for scalable deliverables.

  • Overseeing internal creative, production & post unit.

  • Cultivating, managing & auditing strategic vendor partnerships.

  • Facilitating cross-functional collaboration to achieve complex project goals with often competing needs.

  • Crafting and maintaining comprehensive project documentation for streamlined operations.

  • Managing both the bidding process and wrap procedures with finance partners, ensuring accurate financial tracking and adherence to budgetary constraints.

  • Providing on set creative oversight as the primary marketing representative on all productions.

 

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Work & Co

www.work.co

Global Group Director - Content

USA, Brazil, Copenhagen & Serbia

2019 - Present

Sample of work:

The Map - Film w/ Gary Hustwit

Ikea

Google Store

Gatorade

Epic Games

Vista

Work & Co asked me to join in 2019 to expand the agencies offerings, to grow and level up an existing motion team and to convert a historically non-billable discipline into a profitable pillar of the company. I was quickly able to build trust across all levels of the organization, educating leadership, Biz Dev and PMs, on how to scope and sell in content. Content quickly grew from a liability for the company to a profitable multi-million dollar core offering. This new founded momentum allowed me to grow the team from a small localized unit to an international team that supports our eight offices around the world.

A small sampling of my responsibilities:

  • Managing and mentoring an international team of producers and animators.

  • Working closely with the partners to establish and execute revenue growth strategies and goals.

  • Working hand-in-hand with the business development team, bringing in a long list of clients as well as helping grow existing relationships.

  • Spearheading talent acquisition and managing turnover.

  • Solely responsible for establishing and managing all vendor partnerships across illustration, motion, live-action, photography, talent, music, audio & licensing.

  • Speaking engagements.

Clients:

Apple, Google, Amazon, IKEA, T-Mobile, Airbnb, Chase, Gatorade, Vista, Epic Games, Lyft, Mayo Clinic, Audacy, PGA, Steve Jobs Archive, Disney, Mercedes-Benz, Havianas and many more.

 
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Instrument

www.instrument.com

Executive Producer | Account Lead | Sales Strategist

2017 - 2019

Instrument was looking to expand and elevate their content offerings and brought me on to help grow the discipline. In my first year I was able to turn an at-risk account into a cornerstone client, growing their Facebook content business from under $100k in 2017 to over $4m in 2018. I built a black-box team of creatives, producers, developers, editors & animators that steered the client to a successful launch of their first physical product, the Facebook Portal. That relationship began with 8 agencies working on different aspects of the launch and ended with us being the the sole external creative agency supporting through delivery. Our unit designed the .com experience, produced the supporting content, created the marketing videos, digital and broadcast PR materials, social creative, retail experience and much more.

In addition to Facebook, I lead the Microsoft & Atlassian accounts, was the sole new business salesmen for content, helped revamp the new business strategy with our CSO & recruited top tier talent.

 
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Oddfellows

www.oddfellows.tv

Founder | Head of Production

2013 - 2017

Sample of work:

Cartoon Network - 25th Anniversary

Adobe

Refinery 29

Nest

Google Fi

Blend Titles

Casper

In 2013, unable to find a studio that was delivering award winning creative while maintaining work/life balance, I set out to create a studio that offered both. Along with two partners, we built Oddfellows from the ground up.

By creating an environment that valued peoples personal lives as much as the work itself and by allowing people to work remotely, we were able to recruit some of the best talent in the world. In short-order we were able to grow our presence from a relatively unknown to one of the most sought after animation studios in the world and I was able to establish representation in the US, Canada & Europe. Time and time again we won best studio awards and were able to do so without ever working nights or weekends.

 
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Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

www.goodbysilverstein.com

Executive Producer | Account Director

2010 - 2013

I joined GS&P to help expand their internal production capabilities and to elevate their animation unit. The goal was to expedite production timelines and to rein in the millions being spent on external production.

Within my first year I was able to build an elite unit of creatives, producers, editors, animators & composers to services my primary accounts, Sprint, Chevy & Google.

For Sprint, we built an end-to-end creative solution that was able to pull in and execute 100% of all broadcast and digital production internally. We negotiated and secured celebrity VO talent, managed live-action productions all over the US and delivered over 300 unique ads and in a single year.

With Chevy, the focus was on expediting the post-production process to be able to react more efficiently to client requests. We pulled in editorial as well as celebrity VO recording sessions and final audio mix, greatly reducing our turnaround times. A personal highlight on this account was producing the Super Bowl commercial Chevy: Miss Evelyn the most viewed ad off all time.

Coming off the success of Sprint, my team shifted it’s focus to Google with a heavy focus on expediency. We created offset teams that could work around the clock, ultimately turning around broadcast spots in 72 hrs from concept to air. My favorite ad the team created was Hall & Oates spot for Google Docs.

 
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Spy / Fotokem

www.fotokem.com

Sr. Post Producer

2006 - 2010

I joined Spy in 2006 because it offered the unique opportunity to work across such a wide variety of deliverables. We worked in feature, broadcast & music video editorial, color & VFX. I headed up our emerging tech division and helped shepherd the company to HD, then 2k and from Flame/Smoke to a full suite of VFX tools. Some highlights during my time here were working on Iron Man, Avatar, Die Hard, the iPad launch & music videos for Taylor Swift, Leann Rimes and many more.

 
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Macbeth

www.macbeth.com

Producer | Director

2002 - 2007

I joined Macbeth’s internal marketing team in 2006 to introduce video to their .com experience. Working alongside Tom Delonge from Blink-182, I concepted and produced original content for the long list of bands he and the brand sponsored. I produced and directed original ad’s for the brand and created retail experiences for the fans on tour.