Advanced Systems Group Announces Managed Services VP

Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced the promotion of Gretchen Taipale to Vice President, Managed Services, following the promotion of Jody Boatwright, former VP of Managed Services, to ASG’s Chief Strategy Officer. 

In her new role, Gretchen will set strategic direction for ASG’s Managed Services department and oversee the delivery of media operations and production services through a global workforce that supports some of the world’s largest enterprise organizations. Managed Services provides staffing and builds fully operational teams for production, studio, media, and creative environments that are embedded at client facilities. 

Taipale joins the executive team after serving as Managing Director for ASG’s Creative and Production Managed Services team, where she led account management and agency services. Under her leadership the group supported a diverse portfolio of more than 30 accounts and oversaw a workforce of over 500 professionals.

Evolving services to meet market needs
According to Taipale, her team’s growth can be attributed to the creation of a large ASG workforce and talent hubs in New York, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and London, plus growing teams in Seattle, Austin and South Florida. That expanding footprint allows the ASG Managed Services team to mobilize talent quickly and support clients wherever they work. During her tenure, the Managed Services business evolved beyond live event production into creative in-house agencies, broadcast operations, live studio teams and full content production services. 

What further sets ASG’s Managed Services apart, Taipale emphasizes, is its internal staff and domain knowledge. “We don’t hire career account managers,” she explains. “Our account and resource managers come from media and production backgrounds. They’ve run studios and lead media operations. That’s the reason we can build the most effective teams for our clients. The people building their teams are experts in this field. This is a core value we bring to our clients.”

She highlights two practical advantages ASG offers: speed and scalability: “When our clients need to ramp up quickly for a big event, we can scale for them. Or when clients are looking to do more with less internal resources, they can’t add overhead, we support them, so they can get the work done.” Recent investments in live event capabilities, including new personnel to support those areas, reflect this commitment. (On February 3 of this year, ASG announced the appointment of industry veteran Derek Pezzotti to ASG’s Production and Innovation team to help expand the company’s presence in the sports and venue segment.)
 
A vision built on collaboration and talent development
Looking ahead, Gretchen wants to knit ASG’s company-wide capabilities gained through years of facility design with its commitment to share knowledge creating the best client experience. “I want my team to be able to walk into a client meeting, hear about a challenge with a tool or workflow, and immediately say: ‘We have someone at ASG who can help,’” she explains. “That means building stronger internal synergies so Managed Services can quickly draw on ASG experts, tools and technology to solve any customer issues.”

Taipale brings a people-first management style to the role: “I love managing people. I love growing and developing talent. Finding where people’s skill sets fit and creating opportunities for growth is something I’m truly passionate about.” 

It’s exactly that passion that makes her such an ideal leader for ASG’s Managed Services team, says Dave Van Hoy, ASG President: “Gretchen doesn’t just build teams, she develops talent, processes and client relationships that deliver every day. That rare blend of genuine talent development, hands-on production experience, and operational rigor and genuine talent development have helped us scale Managed Services into a $60 million line of business. She takes ASG’s deep expertise and turns it into practical and scalable solutions for our customers.”

www.asgllc.com