August, 2026.- As Edge Marketing has grown, the agency has shifted toward more integrated marketing, which means strategy and delivery need to work much more closely together. Ben Svikss was promoted into a newly created Operations Director role to connect those pieces while ensuring teams are aligned and resources are used effectively.
In this interview, Svikss discusses his top priority in the first 90 days: strengthening operational foundations by improving workflows, team visibility, and capacity planning. The goal is to remove unnecessary friction so specialists can spend more time delivering great outcomes for clients.
Svikss has spent a decade at Edge, leading teams across design, paid media, and SEO operations. This cross-functional experience has given him a deep understanding of how each team operates and what they need to succeed. Every discipline has different priorities, but they all contribute to the same client outcome. He is not aiming to be an expert across every discipline; it is more about creating an environment where the true experts can work together more effectively.
On streamlining, Svikss notes that good systems should support people, not slow them down. If the process becomes more difficult than the work itself, they have gone too far. His goal is to remove repetitive tasks and uncertainty so teams have more time to focus on creativity, problem-solving, and delivering results.
Svikss also addresses the biggest challenge as agencies grow: maintaining visibility across people, projects, and priorities. Without that, communication suffers and quality becomes inconsistent. He will be creating clear systems and accountability at Edge so they can identify bottlenecks early and continue growing without compromising client outcomes.
1. The Newly Created Role: You’ve been promoted into a newly created Operations Director role at Edge Marketing. What specific operational gap did this role exist to fill, and what’s your top priority in the first 90 days?
As EDGE has grown, we’ve shifted towards more integrated marketing led by our Strategy & Performance Director, Luke Gosha, which means strategy and delivery need to work much more closely together. My role was created to connect those pieces while ensuring teams are aligned and resources are used effectively.
My first priority is strengthening our operational foundations by improving workflows, team visibility and capacity planning. The goal is to remove unnecessary friction so our specialists can spend more time delivering great outcomes for clients.
2. A Decade at Edge: You’ve spent the past 10 years at Edge, leading teams across design, paid media, and SEO operations. How does your cross-functional experience prepare you to oversee operations across performance marketing, SEO, web development, creative, and video production?
Working across design, paid media and SEO has given me a deep understanding of how each team operates and what they need to succeed. Every discipline has different priorities, but they all contribute to the same client outcome.
I’m not aiming to be an expert across every discipline, it’s more about creating an environment where the true experts can work together more effectively.
3. Streamlining Without Stifling: Your focus is on removing operational friction and streamlining workflows. Where is the line between streamlining that enables creativity and over-optimization that kills it? How do you know you’ve crossed it?
Good systems should support people, not slow them down. If the process becomes more difficult than the work itself, we’ve gone too far.
My goal is to remove repetitive tasks and uncertainty so our teams have more time to focus on creativity, problem-solving and delivering results. Not only better for our clients but also better for our teams as they get to do more of what they are good at and enjoy.
4. Scaling Without Sacrificing Quality: Edge is growing, and you’re responsible for ensuring consistent delivery as the agency scales. What’s the first operational bottleneck you expect to hit as the team grows, and what are you doing to prevent it?
As agencies grow, the biggest challenge is maintaining visibility across people, projects and priorities. Without that, communication suffers and quality becomes inconsistent.
I’ll be creating clear systems and accountability at EDGE, so we can identify bottlenecks early and continue growing without compromising client outcomes.
5. Collaboration Across Disciplines: Your role spans multiple disciplines—performance marketing, SEO, creative, video. What’s the most common breakdown in collaboration between these teams, and how are you redesigning workflows to prevent it?
Every team naturally focuses on its own priorities, but great client outcomes rely on everyone pulling in the same direction, and leaving the silo mentality behind.
By creating shared visibility and clear workflows, every department understands how their work contributes to the bigger picture and ultimately this leads to better client outcomes.
6. The Right People, Right Seats: Rohan Dwyer said it’s about “getting the right people on the bus and making sure they’re in the right seats.” What’s your process for identifying whether someone is in the right role, and what do you do when they’re not?
I look at both performance and passion in equal measure. Someone might be capable of a role, but if it doesn’t suit their strengths, they’re unlikely to do their best work.
The first step is always support. Sometimes a small change in responsibility is all it takes for someone to thrive, which benefits both the individual and the business.
