Agency

CYLNDR Studios Names Leah Chaney Director of Influencer to Embed Creators Into Creative Process

Published on May 12, 2026

CYLNDR Studios has appointed Leah Chaney as Director of Influencer, a role focused on integrating creators into the studio’s production-first model from the outset of campaign development.

Chaney joins from Wasserman, where she served as Director of Creator Partnerships and led global accounts for Meta, Clorox, and Google. Her background also includes branded content and production work with Netflix, Paramount, NBC, and Hulu.

In her new role, Chaney will embed creators alongside strategists, designers, and filmmakers at the start of the creative process, rather than bringing them in at the execution stage.

“There’s been a ceiling on influencer because we have treated it as an output,” Chaney said in a statement. “The real opportunity is to treat it like authorship. Creators shouldn’t be brought in to execute ideas; they should be helping define them.”

Production as Strategy

The hire follows a broader restructuring at CYLNDR Studios aimed at closing the gap between creative development and production. The studio, part of the Cheil Agency Network, has described what it calls “the handoff tax” – the friction and creative dilution that accumulates when thinking and making are handled by separate teams at separate stages.

“The old model of concept first, production later, is breaking under the pressure of speed and scale,” said Sylvain Tron, Managing Director of CYLNDR Studios. “That model was built for a simpler time.”

Tron added that Chaney’s appointment reflects the same philosophy driving the studio’s recent expansion. “Chaney shares that vision when it comes to influencer work. She knows that creators need to be part of the strategy; they need to be influencing the brief.”

Earlier in 2026, CYLNDR Studios announced four senior hires across film craft, motion and visual innovation, applied AI, and growth, building out a leadership team designed to support the studio’s integrated production model, according to shots News.

CYLNDR Studios currently works with brands including Samsung, Little Caesars, Almond Breeze, Ross Dress for Less, and Meta. The studio operates across multiple engagement models, including extending in-house creative teams and serving as a production partner for agency clients.