Here's the thing about operations: when it's done right, nobody notices. The team just works. Clients are happy. The business grows. That's my job. 10 years in ops, most recently Director of Operations at Shotdeck. Before that, Wunderman Thompson brought me in when a 17-person team kept missing deadlines. Turned out three people were "owning" the same deliverables and nobody knew it. We fixed the handoffs, projects started shipping. Not magic, just untangling the mess. I also do contract work building AI automation. One project cut processing time by 40% because I watched talented people waste hours on copy-paste work when they could've been doing something that mattered. I find the friction and fix it. Sometimes that's automation. Sometimes it's renegotiating with a vendor (saved 18% just by asking better questions). Sometimes it's writing an SOP people actually follow. By the numbers: 12% cut in running costs, 15% boost in team productivity. Looking for fractional or part-time ops work. I clean up the mess fast and leave things better than I found them.

Mary Holmes

PRO

Here's the thing about operations: when it's done right, nobody notices. The team just works. Clients are happy. The business grows. That's my job. 10 years in ops, most recently Director of Operations at Shotdeck. Before that, Wunderman Thompson brought me in when a 17-person team kept missing deadlines. Turned out three people were "owning" the same deliverables and nobody knew it. We fixed the handoffs, projects started shipping. Not magic, just untangling the mess. I also do contract work building AI automation. One project cut processing time by 40% because I watched talented people waste hours on copy-paste work when they could've been doing something that mattered. I find the friction and fix it. Sometimes that's automation. Sometimes it's renegotiating with a vendor (saved 18% just by asking better questions). Sometimes it's writing an SOP people actually follow. By the numbers: 12% cut in running costs, 15% boost in team productivity. Looking for fractional or part-time ops work. I clean up the mess fast and leave things better than I found them.

Available to hire

Here’s the thing about operations: when it’s done right, nobody notices. The team just works. Clients are happy. The business grows. That’s my job.
10 years in ops, most recently Director of Operations at Shotdeck. Before that, Wunderman Thompson brought me in when a 17-person team kept missing deadlines. Turned out three people were “owning” the same deliverables and nobody knew it. We fixed the handoffs, projects started shipping. Not magic, just untangling the mess.
I also do contract work building AI automation. One project cut processing time by 40% because I watched talented people waste hours on copy-paste work when they could’ve been doing something that mattered.
I find the friction and fix it. Sometimes that’s automation. Sometimes it’s renegotiating with a vendor (saved 18% just by asking better questions). Sometimes it’s writing an SOP people actually follow.
By the numbers: 12% cut in running costs, 15% boost in team productivity.
Looking for fractional or part-time ops work. I clean up the mess fast and leave things better than I found them.

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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Director of Operations at Shotdeck
October 1, 2022 - August 1, 2025
Designed and implemented AI automation solutions that eliminated manual workflows, reducing processing time by 40%. Led daily operations across multiple departments, translating CEO strategy into cross-functional execution. Negotiated vendor contracts to cut costs by 18% while preserving service quality. Established company-wide compliance frameworks to ensure regulatory adherence.
Digital Project Manager (Contract) at Wunderman Thompson
May 1, 2022 - October 1, 2022
Led a cross-functional team of 17 using Microsoft Teams and Workfront, consistently delivering projects on time. Maintained Smartsheet-based schedules, proactively identifying risks and adjusting timelines to prevent delays. Gathered requirements, scoped work, allocated resources, and set schedules that met client expectations.
Operations Manager at Paradise Media LLC
January 1, 2020 - May 1, 2022
Increased team productivity KPIs by 15% through SEO training and optimized content workflows. Streamlined production processes with a 12% reduction in operating costs. Built scalable systems for content creation, client deliverables, and campaign management, and established internal KPIs and SOPs to improve turnaround times.
Project Manager at Sazmining
January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2020
Developed comprehensive project plans with objectives, timelines, resources, and staffing to meet tight deadlines. Delivered projects within budget by solving complex problems and collaborating with senior leadership. Maintained stakeholder communications to ensure alignment and satisfaction across the project lifecycles.
Marketing Project Manager at OmniAlly
July 1, 2019 - January 1, 2020
Increased brand awareness and lead generation through strategic management of internal and external marketing campaigns. Managed marketing budgets and P&L to develop and execute comprehensive strategies across business segments.

Education

Bachelor of Science at Portland State University
January 11, 2030 - January 1, 2018

Qualifications

PMP
March 2, 2018 - March 2, 2023

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Software & Internet, Professional Services, Education
    paper Shotdeck

    Shotdeck.com is a subscription-based visual research platform used by filmmakers, cinematographers, and creatives worldwide. The platform hosts over a million high-resolution stills from movies, TV, commercials, and music videos, all fully searchable by shot type, color, lens, mood, and more. Users build “decks” to communicate visual direction with clients and collaborators during pitches, treatments, and preproduction.
    What I did:
    As Director of Operations, I ran the day-to-day business and managed projects across development, marketing, and events. I owned budgeting, hiring, and vendor relationships while keeping cross-functional teams aligned and shipping on time.
    Toward the end of my time there, I built AI automations that changed how the company worked internally. I automated communication workflows, task assignments, and reporting by integrating tools with Asana. What used to take hours of manual coordination now happened automatically, which freed the team to focus on the product and the customers instead of chasing updates.
    Key contributions:

    Managed development and marketing projects from planning through delivery
    Oversaw budgeting, hiring, and vendor negotiations (18% cost savings through renegotiated contracts)
    Built AI-powered automations for task assignment, internal comms, and reporting
    Integrated workflows with Asana to streamline project tracking
    Reduced manual coordination work so the team could focus on higher-value tasks