Jacob Brumfield is the CEO of CO\\OP GP and the strategist behind CO\\OP's vertically integrated vendor model, which he leads. A filmmaker, prolific marketer, and financial engineer, Jacob operates at the intersection of high-concept creative production and rigorous private equity principles. His career is defined by a commitment to transforming the entertainment industry from a gate-kept secret to a decentralized community-building industrial opportunity.

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With over two decades of experience as a producer and storyteller, Jacob understands that a film’s value is determined by its ability to connect with an audience. His background in advertising and performance marketing has shaped CO\\OP’s "consumer-first" approach, utilizing data-driven distribution strategies to mitigate market risk. By integrating world-class marketing directly into the production pipeline, he ensures that projects aren't just made—they are positioned for global reach and commercial exit.

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Jacob engineered the studio’s internal structure to resolve the fragmentation common in traditional production. By vertically integrating the vendor ecosystem and internalizing the debt stack, he removed the layers of external fees that typically burden independent media. This model allows CO\\OP to operate with the consistency of an industrial institution, focusing on a high volume of projects with a disciplined cost structure. The framework is built for operational stability, ensuring that the studio's resources remain directly aligned with its long-term creative goals.

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At the heart of Jacob’s leadership is the creation of a member-managed, employee-owned co-operative. By establishing this model in Idaho, he has built a self-sustaining creative ecosystem that empowers local talent and offers a clear path to a creative career. Jacob views the studio as more than a production house; it is a resilient platform where transparency, operational excellence, and collective ownership drive generational growth and cultural impact.

John Van Buren is the Chief Development Officer at CO\\OP GP, where he leads capital formation and the integration of the firm’s technology stack. He serves as the primary bridge between the studio’s creative slates and institutional capital markets. John is responsible for scaling the firm’s production and development funds while ensuring the studio’s underlying infrastructure is built for speed, transparency, and high-velocity capital recycling.

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With a deep background in strategic growth and tech-driven operations, John specializes in identifying and implementing the tools that make our industrial art model possible. He oversees the technical integration of our vertically integrated vendor ecosystem, utilizing data-driven workflows and automated systems to minimize friction in the production pipeline. This focus on technical efficiency allows the studio to maintain a disciplined cost structure without compromising on the quality of the final output.

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Beyond his role in capital and technology, John is a dedicated steward of the studio’s co-operative mission. He views the employee-owned model as the ultimate engine for long-term growth, providing a level of structural alignment that traditional Hollywood firms lack. By ensuring that every technical and financial advancement directly benefits our community of creators and partners, John helps maintain the studio’s position as a resilient and future-proof creative economy.

Rafael Mojden leads the operational resilience and systems governance strategy at CO\\OP GP. With a career spanning banking, fintech, and energy, he bridges the gap between industrial deployment and institutional risk management. Rafael brings a systems-first mentality to our investment committee, ensuring that our slate financing and infrastructure projects are built for long-term stability and capital efficiency.

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His background as a technologist in high-stakes environments includes roles in upstream drilling operations at SLR and A/R financing at R-1 Finance. This direct experience allows him to vet emerging technologies through a lens of both technical feasibility and financial durability. He is particularly focused on how "boots on the ground" operations can be optimized to mitigate downside risk for our partners.

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Beyond technical strategy, Rafael is an architect of community-centered business models. His commitment to decentralization and local sovereignty is reflected in his work with the Minnesota Blockchain Initiative and various public-private partnerships. He views access to power, water, and financial services as essential utility layers that thrive best when communities have a stake in their own infrastructure.

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At CO\\OP GP, Rafael’s expertise is central to our mission as an employee-owned, co-operative studio. He oversees the integration of transformative technologies across our film, television, and media slates, ensuring that every project fosters a resilient ecosystem. Whether he is optimizing micro-grids or managing media-focused infrastructure funds, his focus remains on stewardship, transparency, and building generational wealth through collective success.

Joelle Ater is the Chief Community Officer at CO\\OP GP & CO\\OP Studios where she oversees the firm’s human capital strategy and community-driven operational model. A specialist in talent development and organizational culture, Joelle is responsible for building the self-sustaining creative ecosystem that defines the studio. She ensures that the studio’s mission as an employee-owned, member-managed co-operative translates into a high-performance environment where every participant has a stake in the collective success.

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At CO\\OP, Joelle manages the bridge between our industrial production slates and the local workforce. She leads the studio’s efforts to identify, train, and empower the next generation of creative professionals, ensuring that proximity to traditional industry hubs is no longer a barrier to a sustainable career. By fostering a culture of radical transparency and shared ownership, she mitigates the "talent drain" common in independent media and builds a resilient, localized industry from the ground up.

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Joelle’s work is fundamental to the studio’s "systems-first" approach. She views community engagement as a core business function that drives operational stability and reduces long-term risk. Her leadership ensures that the CO\\OP vendor model is supported by a motivated, highly skilled workforce that is structurally aligned with our investment partners. This focus on human-centric systems makes the studio more than just a production house; it makes it a blueprint for modern, decentralized industrial opportunity.

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With a deep commitment to stewardship and resilience, Joelle is the primary advocate for the individuals who power our creative slates. She ensures that as CO\OP Studios scales globally, it remains anchored in the values of compassion, inclusion, and collective growth. Through her leadership, the studio continues to prove that empowering people is the most effective way to build a future-proof creative economy.

Wesley Alley is the Chief Production Officer at CO\\OP GP & CO\\OP Studios, where he oversees the physical execution and operational logistics of the firm’s media slates. A veteran director and producer with an extensive background in high-velocity filmmaking, Wesley is the architect of the studio’s "industrial-scale" production pipeline. He ensures that every project—from independent features to episodic television—is delivered with technical precision, on schedule, and within the disciplined cost structures of the CO\\OP vendor model.

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With decades of experience navigating the complexities of production sets, Wesley specializes in the vertical integration of technical departments. He manages the studio’s internalized vendor ecosystem, streamlining workflows across camera, lighting, sound, and post-production. By removing the traditional fragmentation of third-party rentals and external crews, Wesley has engineered a production environment that maximizes every dollar on screen while mitigating the common logistical risks that burden independent media.

 

At CO\\OP, Wesley’s leadership is defined by a commitment to operational excellence and talent mentorship. His ability to balance the creative needs of a director with rigorous fiduciary requirements and institutional discipline makes him a unique asset at the intersection of Hollywood and private equity.

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Wesley views the CO\\OP model as a decentralized industrial opportunity that breaks the gate-keeping of traditional hubs. By establishing a permanent, high-functioning production infrastructure in Idaho, he is helping to build a self-sustaining creative economy. Through his stewardship, CO\\OP Studios continues to deliver a high volume of premium content that serves a global audience while anchoring generational growth for its employee-owners and community partners.

Mark Holder serves as the Chief Investment Officer at CO\\OP GP, where he leads the firm’s capital allocation strategy and portfolio oversight. With a career rooted in both talent management and high-level production, Mark bridges the gap between creative intellectual property and institutional investment discipline. As CIO, he is responsible for ensuring that the studio’s production slates are engineered for consistent performance, moving media away from speculative betting and toward a structured portfolio industrial model.

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Mark brings a unique commercial lens to the investment committee, shaped by years of navigating the complexities of the Hollywood talent and production landscape. He treats the studio’s creative output as a diversified portfolio of assets, applying rigorous risk-management frameworks to every stage of a project's lifecycle. This "portfolio first" approach allows CO\\OP to maintain the operational consistency of a merchant bank while producing premium content for a global audience.

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Mark integrates the studio's member-managed structure directly into its risk management framework. He views the co-operative model as a functional tool for incentive alignment, ensuring that the creative teams and the capital they deploy share a unified objective. By fostering this collective ownership, he reduces the operational friction common in traditional production and shields the portfolio from the overhead inefficiencies and volatility of legacy industry models.

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At CO\\OP GP, Mark’s focus remains on stewardship, transparency, and the creation of generational wealth. He ensures that the studio’s resources are deployed with high velocity and maximum efficiency, providing a resilient platform for both investors and the community. Through his leadership, CO\\OP continues to redefine how institutional capital and community-driven art can work together to build a future-proof creative economy.