Michael Janda

Michael Janda is an accomplished executive creative leader with over two decades of experience in leading in-house creative departments and agencies, collaborating with renowned global brands.

In 2002, he established the creative agency, Riser, achieving an impressive 31% average annual profit margin over 13 years. Riser garnered national recognition for its exceptional work with clients such as Disney, Google, ABC, Fox, Warner Bros., and NBC, among others.

After selling Riser in 2015 to a competing Utah marketing agency called Eli Kirk, Michael assumed the role of Chief Creative Officer and one of the four partners. He spearheaded the rebrand of the agency, now known as EKR, which subsequently experienced substantial growth and earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 list.

Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Michael served as a Senior Creative Director at Fox Studios, overseeing a diverse team of designers, content creators, and developers.

Aside from his management roles, Michael Janda is a published author of the successful book 'Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff they don’t teach you in design school, but should,' which has been well-received internationally and catapulted him into a prominent keynote speaker at various industry events nationwide.

His contributions to the creative and marketing spheres have earned him features in reputable publications like Print Magazine, HOW Magazine, Utah Business Magazine, and BusinessQ Magazine.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design from Indiana University Bloomington.