Mark Thomas

Managing Director/Executive Producer, TWC Films

Mark Thomas is one of the most sought after Executive Producers in the commercial production industry, a professional who has earned the trust of the country’s leading advertising agencies and one who has helped shaped the careers some of the top directors in the business.

Born in Southern California, Thomas began his career right out of school with a commercial production company. He started out in production but after a few years gravitated toward being an Executive Producer with a bent for branding. That company became Production Partners, and Thomas led both the production and sales effort that made it one of the top commercial producers in the U.S. He went onto enjoy even greater success with two other top production companies, Sunlight Pictures and Stiefel & Company (now part of @radical.media).

Along the way, Thomas has won virtually every award in advertising (well over thirty to date), including a Lion at Cannes, multiple Clio’s, AICP/MOMA, Addy’s, Monitor’s, Hugo’s, Telly’s, etc. Directors he has handled have been DGA award nominees multiple times during their tenure with him.

Beginning in October 2003, Thomas started a new chapter in his career. Partnered with well-respected feature film producer Ralph Winter (“X-Men 1,2 & 3″; Tim Burton’s “Planet of the Apes”; both “Fantastic Four” pictures; the Hugh Jackman picture “Wolverine”) and director Phil Cooke, they formed the company TWC Films, Inc. Thomas will continue handling an in-demand cadre of commercials directors, and the company is garnering attention with such high visibility projects as the Super Bowl campaign for Career Builders and the much lauded Chevrolet “Volt” spot that debuted in the Olympics. The company is also leading the way into new areas.

“It’s a paradigm shift in the model,” says Thomas. “For years commercial production companies did just that and nothing else. Now a creative film company can be a force in multiple genres, if desired. We’ve decided that we can be focused in multiple forms of content creation, and deliver significant opportunities for our talent, be it a traditional commercial, a longer form piece for the web, or even a feature.”

Recognized not only as serious developer of directorial talent and a branding strategist, Thomas is also sought after as an industry voice and is frequently quoted in the press. He continues to contribute articles to leading trade journals. “I love working in the advertising and film industry,” says Thomas. “There is always new talent, new people, the visual aesthetic continues to change, and the creative bar is always ascending. Every day is a positive challenge.”