Industry veteran Mike Lobikis is starting off 2021 with great strides, having recently been appointed Head of Sales/Executive Producer at Partizan. Lobikis has been entrenched in the business and culture of the A-list production company for some time. He comes from bicoastal talent agency Hustle, where he represented Partizan while serving as partner and talent rep for the west coast market.
Now moving in-house in an executive capacity, Lobikis will be dedicated to further growing the iconic Partizan brand. As Head of Sales and EP, Lobikis will continue to curate and develop diverse talent that fits with the Partizan mission statement, while evolving the offerings in the advertising, content, music video, film and tv spaces to service Partizan’s clients in more robust ways.
Georges Bermann, Founder of Partizan, speaks to the partnership, “Mike Lobikis loves and understands creators and artists, and knows how to cultivate their work with agencies, brands, artists and platforms. He is a ferryman of art, and that’s the type of person we love to work with, as it’s our core business.”
Lobikis is no stranger to representing and developing award-winning creative talent. Prior to Hustle, Lobikis served as Executive Producer at Mass Appeal, and before that, he was Head of Development at Tool of North America. Having been immersed in the landscape for just over 15 years, Lobikis is inspired by the amount of innovation currently being put forth by the production community, at a time when making content is more challenging than ever.
“It’s no secret 2020 was a difficult year for the industry as a whole,” Lobikis remarks. “Forced to learn on the fly, some companies floundered while others figured out remote production and new safety protocols quickly.”
“More than any company, Partizan flourished,” he continues. “We moved with speed and purpose while maintaining high standards for safety and craft. For all of us, this move in-house was built around a desire to double down on our success over the past two years. To take the momentum of 2020 and build on it.”
Lisa Tauscher, Managing Director/Executive Producer, affirms that, “Now more than ever, it’s about creative problem-solving, which is something Mike is brilliant at. It made perfect sense to bring him on board in an executive capacity and continue that strategy and evolution into our workplace.”
Indeed, Partizan proved to be a shining example of adaptability in 2020, producing work for major brands such as Adobe, Chase, Amazon, Verizon, and Apple, along with videos for musical artists like Tom Petty, Dua Lipa, The Strokes and Katy Perry.
To that end, Lobikis’ efforts toward Partizan’s growth will emphasize what the company is known for doing best – creating world-class commercials and innovative music videos and content while breeding young new talents. As he says, “This is a moment to tap into our roots in music and set the bar for visual techniques and innovation. Musicians are ultimately the world’s foremost content creators; they are who and what influences the culture. What's fun about operating in those spaces is that there are so many ways to build.”
Driven by the ambition to work with the very best content creators, Lobikis speaks to Partizan’s notoriety with deep respect, “There are only a handful of production companies in the world with the staying power of Partizan.” He recalls, “I grew up watching Michel Gondry music videos and films, and remember watching Antoine Bardou-Jacquet's Honda ‘Cog’ film at my very first job in advertising. Those guys have had such prolific careers and are still making award-winning spots. Michel even had a Super Bowl commercial for DoorDash this year. That kind of longevity is largely unseen in this industry.”
With forward-thinkers like Lobikis on board, that enduring legacy will continue. Tauscher remarks, “What caught my attention early on in working with Mike over the past two years was how closely he has his finger on the pulse of everything. Mike truly is a student of our industry and constantly stays in front of what is happening, always wanting to push the envelope a little further.”
