01 · INTRO
GLOBAL OPERATIONS TRANSFORMATION DATA STRATEGY
BRIAN /FREES
EXPERTISE
Global Operations & Data Strategy
EXPERIENCE
13+ Years
LOCATION
Los Angeles, CA
RANGE
Global

An operations exec who can read the data.
A data strategist who understands the business. Over a decade of experience building and leading both functions at global scale.

Let's build the next one.

WHAT'S NEXT

Concluded a 10-year run at Universal Music Group and earned a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Management. Ready to bring that combination to an organization needing something built, optimized, or transformed.

GET IN TOUCH ↗ RÉSUMÉ / PDF
Brian Frees · 2026
//HEADSHOT 2026
02 · STATS

THE NUMBERS.

Selected outcomes from a decade at UMG.

01 · FORECAST ADVANTAGE
45-DAY

revenue forecasting advantage unlocked using predictive analytics and DSP consumption data

02 · DATA INTEGRATION
2.5B+

rows of 3rd-party data ingested and processed daily into a cloud-based petabyte-scale analytics platform

03 · WORKFLOW AUTOMATION
20%

manual effort reduction across content delivery via implementation of automated workflows

04 · FUNDING OBTAINED
$4.2M

supporting a 3-yr global archive + asset management operations transformation program

05 · ANNUAL BUDGET
$10M+

budget responsibility across 4 cost centers while VP of Global Integration & Operations Strategy

06 · COMMERCIAL VALUE
$250M+

in future value unlocked via remediation and digitization of 250K+ archive media assets

03 · CASES

DRIVING IMPACT.

CASE № 1
UMG · CEO-MANDATED TRANSFORMATION

THE ARCHIVE,
BACK AT THE TOP.

Architected UMG's response to a CEO-mandated transformation — a 3-year, $10M+ cross-functional program that re-established the company as an industry leader in media asset management. Conducted enterprise-wide gap analysis; built consensus across major global territories via a co-creation approach to standards and governance; partnered directly with the President of Operations, Financial Controller and North American CFO on strategic vision and capital investment.

$10M+
PROGRAM BUDGET
3 YR
PROGRAM HORIZON
CEO
SPONSOR
READ THE BRIEF ↗
FIG · 01MANDATE
$10M+

A 3-year, multi-million-dollar program owned end-to-end across four US + UK cost centers.

— — —CASE · 01
CASE № 2
UMG · GLOBAL ARCHIVE REVITALIZATION

SAVING WHAT ALMOST GOT AWAY.

Proposed, planned and launched UMG's Global Archive Revitalization Program — a $4.2M, 3-year cross-functional initiative that modernized archive operations and unlocked commercial exploitation of catalog at scale. Cataloged 350K+ previously inaccessible assets and digitized 250K+ condition-challenged media, unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars in future monetization opportunities.

$4.2M
PROGRAM TOTAL
350K+
CATALOGED
250K+
DIGITIZED
READ THE BRIEF ↗
FIG · 02PROGRAM
$4.2M

Three-year initiative unlocking hundreds of millions in future monetization from catalog.

— — —CASE · 02
CASE № 3
UMG · GLOBAL DATA, FROM ZERO

UMG's FIRST GLOBAL DATA FUNCTION.

Established UMG's first-ever Global Data function. Personally negotiated data-sharing agreements with major DSPs, unlocking granular consumption visibility and a 45-day revenue forecasting advantage. Migrated billion-row streaming datasets from on-prem to GCP + AWS — query times from days to minutes. Built data governance for GDPR/CCPA compliance, and represented UMG at DDEX working groups shaping industry metadata standards.

45-DAY
FORECAST EDGE
DAYS→MIN
QUERY TIME
DDEX
INDUSTRY SEAT
READ THE BRIEF ↗
FIG · 03FORECAST EDGE
45-DAY

Revenue forecasting advantage from DSP data-sharing agreements I negotiated personally.

— — —CASE · 03
04 · BIO

TECH MEETS
OPERATIONS.

I'm a Global Operations & Data Strategy executive with over a decade of experience building critical capabilities from scratch, driving complex organizational transformation, and deploying data strategies that create lasting competitive advantages.

I built UMG's first-ever Global Data & Analytics function. When the company faced a $150M class-action lawsuit, the President of Operations tapped me to design and deliver the data infrastructure that was central to UMG's defense.

My success led to my most senior role: VP of Global Integration & Operations Strategy, where I designed and led a CEO-mandated 3-year transformation program that re-established UMG as a leader in media asset management.

Before UMG: I delivered BI & analytics projects at DIRECTV and supported the AT&T merger, including post-merger data migration and KPI alignment.

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Technology & Operations Management from Cal Poly Pomona and a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Management from Harvard Extension School.

05 · EXPERTISE

WHAT I BRING.

OPERATING RANGE
  • Organizational Transformation · Operations Strategy
  • Cross-Functional Leadership · Executive Partnership
  • Strategic Planning · Program & Project Management
  • Business Continuity Planning · Risk Manaagement
  • Workflow Design · Process Optimization
  • Organizational Design · Talent Development
  • Change Management · Vendor Management
DATA & TECHNOLOGY
  • Data Strategy · Petabyte-Scale Analytics
  • Business Intelligence · Data Visualization
  • Process Automation · Digital Product Management
  • Artificial Intelligence · Large Language Models
  • Digital Asset Management · Content Operations
  • Digital Supply Chain · Cloud Services (AWS/GCP/Azure)
  • Data Privacy & Security · GDPR & CPRA Compliance
EDUCATION
Graduate Certificate
Strategic Management
Harvard University, Extension School
2026

Bachelor of Science
Technology & Operations Management
Cal Poly Pomona
2011
06 · WORK EXPERIENCE

CAREER TRACK.

2013 → 2025
2023
VP, Global Integration & Operations Strategy
Universal Music Group
SANTA MONICA, CA
↗
2021
Sr. Director, Global Integration & Operations Strategy
Universal Music Group
SANTA MONICA, CA
↗
2019
Lead Data Architect
Universal Music Group
SANTA MONICA, CA
↗
2016
Director, Global Data & Analytics
Universal Music Group
SANTA MONICA, CA
↗
2016
Consultant, Business Intelligence & Analytics
AT&T Entertainment Group
EL SEGUNDO, CA
↗
2015
Consultant, Business Intelligence & Analytics
Universal Music Group
SANTA MONICA, CA
↗
2013
Consultant, Business Intelligence & Analytics
DIRECTV
EL SEGUNDO, CA
↗
07 · SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

PUBLIC SPEAKING.

PANELIST01
GOOGLE
Cloud Platform
LA Data Center Launch · Jul 2018

Selected as one of three featured customer panelists at the launch of Google's Los Angeles Data Center — representing the voice of Google's tech-hungry music & entertainment customers.

GUEST SPEAKER02
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
University
Business of Music (ENTR-4398) · Nov 2024

Invited to give a lecture on the topic of Music Analytics & Major Label Operations — bringing the practitioner view of how data and operations actually move a major record label.

08 · CONTACT

LET'S
BUILD THE
NEXT ONE.

EMAIL
contact@brianfrees.com
LOCATION
Los Angeles, CA
RANGE
Global
ELSEWHERE
linkedin.com/in/bcfrees Résumé (PDF)