Influential Woman · Production and advertising

Michelle Zauzig

Executive Producer / Founder, Studio113

Austin, TX

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Auburn University Degree Radio Television Film Degree NYU Sustainable Business Program Degree 2017 Degree Babson College online program

Her Story

About Michelle

As an executive producer and strategic partnerships leader, Michelle has spent her career connecting high-impact organizations with the storytelling they need to amplify their influence across the globe. Whether producing CGI product launches, branded documentaries or activations— story remains at the center of her work.

In 2025, Michelle launched Studio 113, a production entity founded to bridge the gap between the traditional Executive Producer role and the expanded demands placed on producers today. S113 is set to offer a hybrid model that combines creative oversight, strategic partnership development, and hands-on production leadership.

Prior to her venture, she was at Bakery Agency as Senior Producer, where she oversaw all major client productions and led the launch of Supernatural, an always-on content studio built for high-volume output, accelerated timelines, and limited-budget realities. While there she oversaw the brand launches and touch points of brands like Nike and Treehut, and helped Diageo launch two of their new-to-market incubator brands.

Michelle worked closely with Dell’s internal advertising agency, Dell Blue, as a producer, leading projects from concept to completion across CGI, live action, and docu-style customer stories. Previously, she served as Director of Partnerships at RYOT, the LA-based media company acquired in 2016 by HuffPost/AOL and recognized as a pioneer in immersive storytelling focused on global and social issues. As employee #10, she helped lay the foundation for RYOT’s branded content studio—producing and driving the relationships that would anchor much of the company’s sponsored and commercial work. Her projects have been featured at Cannes, Tribeca, and Sheffield, and celebrated by Refinery29, Elle, Mashable, Adweek, and others.

In Addtion to S113, Michelle and her partner are working to build out a creative studio space here in Austin. The hope is to create a space where people can come and be together, play music, have meetings, and grow our creative community. At the basis, we want to make good work with good people.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Michelle

01What do you attribute your success to?

I would say probably resilience, and honestly, authentic enjoyment of what I do. I don't think that you can withstand hardship without purpose, and I think that if you have that intrinsically, you can kind of withstand any storm. The thing I love about production is it goes from concept to creation quick enough, and there's a lot of hard work in it, but you can see the work pay off from a physical standpoint. When people are happy, that's kind of the best thing. I honestly just love working with people - I just want to figure out what people want to do, and even if it has nothing to do with production, I just have a general propensity to help people get to where they want to be, and I find a lot of joy in that.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I would say, honestly, just go for whatever you think that you want to do in this field. If it's production-specific, spend your first 3 to 5 years observing and learning as much as you can. What I've seen happen time and time again is people come in with too much of a feeling like they have to have everything figured out, and they feel like they have to have the answers, and they're afraid to ask questions. I mean, I was too - I felt like I had to know everything. It's so much better in the beginning to find somebody who you can talk to and ask questions to. Leadership is so important - being a leader and finding a leader or a mentor or somebody that will help you from a perspective where you can feel comfortable with them to mess up, ask questions, be messy, the whole thing. Let that be the beginning of your career. I just think it makes for an easier growth path as you move up, because other people will have the same questions, and you will also be able to emulate. And that's not to say, like, if you don't have that support, find a way to be that support. But I think if you have that support, you know how to be that support.

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