Why Producers Should Be at the Centre with Roma Ahi
Roma Ahi is a global production leader who has built her career in times of transformation from the analogue-to-digital film shift to today’s fast-moving, cross-border production landscape. She began on commercial productions and large-scale events, gaining a deep understanding of creative collaboration in high-pressure environments, before expanding into newsrooms, experiential activations, entertainment, and agency leadership on large-scale brand campaigns. Over the years, she has steered teams through mergers, acquisitions, and rebrands shaping what’s next rather than simply responding to change.
Since joining Makers in 2021, Roma has served as managing executive producer, VP Global Production, and now President. She leads a multidisciplinary team delivering work across experiential, broadcast, and hybrid content models for brands worldwide. Her leadership blends empathy with operational precision, placing equal weight on bold creative choices and the human intelligence behind them. Grounded photography, she pairs rare technical depth with a deep respect for the process, the people, and the power of what gets made.
Q> How do you define 'The Platform Era,' and why now?
Roma> For me, a platform is more than software or a marketplace. It is a connected ecosystem that gives creative decision makers everything they need to deliver: people, process, and technology working together seamlessly.
We are at this moment because the traditional, siloed ways of working cannot keep pace with the demand for more work, across more formats, in less time. The future of production is about clarity and adaptability, and producers are the ones who can bring those together.
Q> In a world where AI tools and freelancers are everywhere, why should producers still be at the centre?
Roma> Because producers don’t just keep the train on the tracks, they decide where it is going, who is on board, and how to get there in one piece.
The way I see it, a 'picture taker' can capture a great shot once. An 'image maker' can recreate that same great shot again and again because they understand every element that went into it: the light, the timing, the lens, the positioning, the mood. That is what producers do. We do not just make something happen once, we create the conditions and systems to make it happen repeatably, at the highest level.
Q> What is the biggest thing the industry needs to stop doing if it wants to protect craft?
Roma> We have been pushed to run at optimal efficiency, and when we do, we lose the space for happy accidents. A lot of what truly resonates with an audience comes from those unexpected, unscheduled moments.
Art and music both need room to breathe. Production is the same. If speed is the only goal, you have to design for it from the start. But if the goal is emotional connection, you have to make space for what I call 'scheduled magic,' the time and trust for ideas to evolve into something unforgettable.
Q> You have said that with the right producer, any set of inputs can make anything. Can you explain that?
Roma> Every project comes with limits, whether it is time, budget, or resources, but a great producer knows how to work with those realities without compromising the idea.
We once had a project where travel budgets meant we could not shoot in multiple locations. Instead, we tapped into local crews, leaned into virtual production, and rethought the storytelling approach. That opened up creative possibilities we would not have explored otherwise, and it happened without changing the core team.
Q> Makers made a deliberate choice not to have a fixed creative bench. Why take that path?
Roma> Because we want the ability to assemble the right team for every project. That means giving clients access to a wider range of creative firepower, from niche specialists to global talent, so we can adapt to whatever the brief demands. It is about adding capability, not replacing what clients already have in-house.
Q> How do you explain Makers, MakeOS, and MakeGlobal to someone outside the industry?
Roma> I tell my seven year old:
Makers is a team of superheroes who make amazing things happen.
MakeOS is our super-smart system that keeps everyone organised (kind of like our J.A.R.V.I.S from Marvel)
MakeGlobal is our group of friends from all over the world who help us tell stories anywhere.
Q> Any closing thoughts?
Roma> The industry will keep evolving with new tools, new formats, and new pressures but the value of a great producer never changes. We’re the ones who can look at a creative vision, see every moving part, and know how to bring it to life, no matter what’s happening around us. If we keep that focus, we won’t just adapt to the future, we'll shape it.
