The Performance Creative Director Hire: Operator vs. Ideator

<p>“She has built an amazing system and an amazing flywheel.” </p><p>What separates a performance creative director worth hiring from one who just manages a content calendar? </p><p>Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) dig into what it takes to hire a director of performance creative today, why the creative strategist role has split into two distinct skill sets, and how AI agents are emerging as a serious ecommerce conversion rate optimization play. </p><p>They debate whether a great creative strategist should be an operator or an ideator. The answer is neither alone. Both hosts unpack why less prescriptive creator briefs are now producing better-performing ads than heavily scripted ones. The hosts close with a quick over-under on the retention tools most brands either overinvest in or ignore entirely. </p><p>Powered By </p><p>Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/motionapp-creativebenchmarks2026"><u>https://9ops.co/motionapp-creativebenchmarks2026</u></a> </p><p>NeonPixel </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/neonpixel"><u>https://9ops.co/neonpixel</u></a> </p><p>Richpanel </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/richpanel"><u>https://9ops.co/richpanel</u></a> </p><p>Aftersell </p><p><a href="https://9ops.co/aftersell-mops"><u>https://9ops.co/aftersell-mops</u></a> </p><p>Haus </p><p><a href="https://www.haus.io/operators"><u>https://www.haus.io/operators</u></a> </p><p>Operators Newsletter </p><p><a href="https://9operators.com/"><u>https://9operators.com/</u></a> </p>