HELLO
A BIT ABOUT ME
Specializing in Creative Agency, Entertainment, CPG, and Enterprise DAM Solutions.
I’m a Digital Asset Manager with experience managing creative assets for a $1B+ multi-brand organization. I focus on solving practical DAM challenges across system architecture, taxonomy, metadata, asset migration, rights management, workflow design, integrations, governance, and user adoption.
I believe a successful DAM should make it easier for people to find, understand, manage, and confidently use the right content.
Building that experience is a balancing act. Too much complexity can overwhelm users. Too little structure limits the value of the platform. The goal is to create the right combination of technology, metadata, governance, and intuitive workflows so the DAM supports how creative and marketing teams actually work.
I’m also part of my Creative Team’s AI Lab, where I participate in governance, benchmarking, and testing of emerging creative AI tools. I’m especially interested in AI-assisted search and metadata enrichment, automation, content provenance, and the governance foundations needed to support AI responsibly.
When the technology, content, and people align, DAM becomes more than a place to store assets. It becomes part of the infrastructure that helps creative teams work more effectively, protect content rights, and get more value from their assets.
f you’re looking for a DAM strategist who understands both the creative and technical sides of asset management, let’s chat.
DAM system experience
Digital Asset Management Systems: Orange Logic / SNS EVO / WebDAM / Xinet / 5thKind / AdPlanner / Scene 7 / Image Relay / Salsify / Dropbox / Lionbox / Box / Copy / Source Audio / Plex /Mavrck / AWS Live & Cold Storage / Proprietary systems
dam admin
EXPERIENCE
Digital Asset Manager / DAM SaaS System Implementation / Asset Migration / Digital Rights Management (DRM) / Copyright & Intellectual Property / Usage Rights / Digital Asset Workflow / Digital Asset Supply Chain (DASC) / PIM
Agency / In-House Creative / Enterprise / Vendor Experience
DAM AI & ML / Google & Azure Services: Facial Recognition, Image Recognition, Speech-To-Text, Video Auto Transcription, OCR
Custom build a proprietary enterprise user case-specific Naming Convention Formula Generator web app for the In-house creative team
dam skills
Digital Asset Management (Media Management)
MarTech
AI / ChatGPT
AI / Midjourney (AI Generative Imaging)
New DAM system discovery & vendor search
DAM RFD / RFP
API (Application Programming Interface)
DAM Standardization & Processes
Governance
Metadata Schema
Google & Azure AI & ML services
Custom File Naming Convention Formula Generator Tool
Taxonomy
New Asset Creation Process
Photography (analog/film and digital system)
DRM / Usage Rights Management
Copyright & Intellectual Property
Project Management
Organization Skills
Photoshoots - On Set
E-commerce
Digital Libraries
File Management
Experience
SIMPLY GOOD FOODS / DIGITAL ASSET MANAGER / EL SEGUNDO, california
September 2021 - Present
DAM system platforms: Orange Logic / SNS EVO / Image Relay / Box / SharePoint / Mavrck
• Manage enterprise DAM and creative asset operations for a $1 billion multi-brand CPG portfolio spanning Quest Nutrition, Atkins, and OWYN.
• Support creative and sales teams across the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.
• Manage platform administration, system architecture, configuration, governance, permissions, and product improvements with the Creative Team, IT, and vendors.
• Lead DAM implementation and optimization: requirements gathering, vendor RFI/RFP evaluation, scope, estimates, resource planning, timelines, user acceptance testing, and onboarding.
• Develop metadata schemas, taxonomy, controlled tags, search filters, and templates. Standardize naming and consolidate metadata to improve quality and discoverability.
• Completed the OWYN legacy migration with standardized naming; manage asset audits, metadata mapping, rights validation, and quality checks.
• Manage photography, video, packaging, social, marketing, sales, vendor, and UGC assets through ingestion, enrichment, distribution, reuse, and archiving.
• Manage rights and usage governance, including talent information, expiration dates, restricted assets, embargoes, and asset and user group permissions.
• Evaluate AI-assisted natural language search with creative users and the DAM vendor, validating search quality before broader rollout.
• Designed and built a proprietary Naming Convention Formula Generator web app for the in-house Creative Team, standardizing naming at creation and supporting consistent DAM ingestion.
• Manage a DAM Coordinator; create knowledge base articles, upload guidelines, and training resources to strengthen adoption and self-service asset discovery.
AI tools: ChatGPT / Claude / Microsoft Copilot / Adobe Firefly / Midjourney / Runway
Avery Products Corp / sr digital asset manager / Brea, california
November 2017 - August 2021
DAM system platforms: WebDAM / Adobe Scene7 / Dropbox / Salsify
• Managed Avery’s U.S. and global SaaS DAM environment, supporting marketing, e-commerce, sales, international teams, vendors, resellers, and agency partners.
• Led asset migration from legacy repositories to a new DAM platform, including asset auditing, metadata mapping, naming convention standardization, and quality checks.
• Developed and implemented metadata schemas, taxonomy, naming standards, and asset creation workflows to improve content organization, discoverability, and reuse.
• Managed ongoing asset auditing, maintenance, and metadata quality across Office and Consumer Products, Blank Labels, WePrint, Industrial, and Imprint Plus product lines.
• Coordinated asset fulfillment and distribution for global in-house marketing teams, agency partners, vendors, resellers, and Amazon content teams.
• Provided DAM onboarding, training, and user support, helping teams adopt standardized workflows and self-service asset discovery.
• Managed licensed partnership assets and usage rights for Hershey’s, Hello Kitty, NBCUniversal’s Minions and Trolls, and Amy Tangerine.
SAATCHI & SAATCHI / DIGITAL ASSET MANAGER / TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA
February 2016 - June 2017
DAM system platforms: Xinet / 5thKind / LionBox / Proprietary DAM
• Administered agency DAM platforms, managing ingestion, metadata, search, and distribution of digital marketing assets for agency and client teams.
• Led Toyota Mirai asset migration, metadata taxonomy, content organization, and usage-rights management.
• Led asset management for Toyota spokesperson “Jan,” including metadata, talent usage rights, licensing restrictions, and asset distribution.
• Cataloged and classified photography, video, and campaign assets using structured metadata, taxonomy, and keywords to improve discoverability.
• Audited and cross-referenced asset licensing and talent usage rights to support approved distribution and reuse.
• Fulfilled asset requests and delivered files in the formats required by creative teams, agencies, production partners, and clients.
• Ingested and distributed assets through Toyota’s 5thKind DAM and AdPlanner asset delivery platform.
Clients: Toyota Motor Sales / Toyota Motor Corporation / Toyota Olympics / Los Angeles Chargers
TBWA\media arts lab / freelance photo researcher / los angeles, california
November 2015 - December 2015
Photo Research / Art Production / Digital Asset Management
• Supported Apple’s Shot on iPhone campaign team through photo research, art production, and digital asset management.
Client: Apple Inc.
KUDOS
Having worked closely with Steve Lam for the past two years, I have been consistently impressed by his exceptional skills, passion, and dedication to digital asset management. Steve does not simply plug in any DAM system; he takes the time to evaluate the needs of the organization and build a custom solution – ensuring the best results possible. Steve’s deep understanding of the digital landscape, consideration of workflows, and expertise in asset management systems along with his effortless ability to work cross-functionally make him a standout leader in the digital asset management space.
- Nina Carbajal / Director, Creative Services / Simply Good Foods
I had the pleasure of working with Steven at Avery Products. He joined the organization and quickly put his digital asset management expertise to use. He is knowledgeable in his space and was able to implement the necessary processes and best practices. In addition, he is a professional, reliable and collaborative with all stakeholders. He patiently provided training and approaches to drive organizational adoption of our system. He continuously brings forth creative solutions and is a great team player. Steven is a valuable asset to any organization
- Bhavna Patel / Director, Digital Brand & Marketing / Avery
I had the pleasure of working with Steven at Saatchi & Saatchi on the Digital Asset Management team, managing TMS (Toyota) DAM assets, and can attest firsthand to his incredible eye for detail, hardworking manner and tireless commitment to great work. Coming from a creative background himself, Steven understands the short completion dates and urgent requests that come with working in DAM, and is able to pivot between multiple tasks from a myriad of teams without any loss in quality. His pleasant manner, no matter how severe the fire drill, made our working experience together a joy from beginning to end. I would recommend him highly to any team looking for an excellent coworker who brings positive vibes to the office every day.
- Robert Husted / Assoc Digital Asset Manager / Saatchi & Saatchi
Steven LAM is not only an amazing and collaborative creative, he understands technology and AI and can elegantly explain it! This is very impressive to casual observer in the industry. We worked together on an early iteration of the Apple 'Shot on iPhone' campaign and his talent as a photographer really helped to find some of the worlds best UGC content for the campaign. If you need a winner in your corner, Steven is it!
- Clarissa Garrett / Sr Producer / TBWA\Media Arts Lab
Education
ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN, PASADENA
BFA PHOTOGRAPHY
ACX / ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN, PASADENA
AI GENERATIVE IMAGING
UCLA EXTENSION, LOS ANGELES
MUSIC LICENSING
Interest
GOLF
MUSIC: R&B, Lo-Fi, Jazz, Neo-Classical, Pop, Electronic
AUDIOPHILES & VINYL RECORDS
ART
FOLDING BIKES
CAMPING
COOKING & GRILLING