London-based Covert is promoting three of its creative executives, the creative studio said Monday. Dan Andrew moves up to head of creative from his former position as VFX creative director. Andrew’s appointment makes way for the promotion of Adrian Monroy to head of 2D and Morteza Parsadan to head of 3D.
In this new role, Andrew will align Covert’s multidisciplinary teams and departments by collaborating with department heads to strengthen the studio’s teams, pipelines and technology operations. He also will serve as creative lead on various projects.
Before joining Covert in 2023, Andrew worked as creative director and VFX supervisor/artist at such studios as Jam VFX and Smoke & Mirrors. He has creatively led projects for such clients as Apple, IMAX, White Claw, Dell, Sonic and Glenlivet, among others.
“This new role perfectly suits my passions and feels like a natural next step in my trajectory at Covert,” said Andrew in a statement. “I still get to do what I love most, creative directing, while also helping shape the broader team and culture alongside some incredibly talented department heads and creatives. The Covert creative train just keeps picking up pace, so all I can say is hold tight!”
Since stepping into their new roles, Andrew, Monroy, and Parsadan – working closely with Covert Founder and Executive Creative Director Simon Dewey – have been instrumental in developing new workflows that position the studio to scale for growth and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI).
Parsadan. joined Covert in 2022 as CG/VFX lead and was named head of computer graphics (CG) in 2024. Over the past three years, he has been a driving force in shaping Covert’s CG capabilities. He is currently leading initiatives to integrate Blender and Unreal Engine into the studio’s production pipeline, as well as AI-assisted workflows. He also continues to mentor the CG team and is preparing a series of masterclasses and training sessions to further strengthen the department’s capabilities. His credits at Covert include major campaigns for IMAX, Lego, Apple, Verizon, Kellogg’s, Whiskas, Hive, Sonic and Dell.
“With Dan as creative head and Adrian as head of 2D, we’re working together to push the boundaries of our craft, staying ahead of where we believe the industry is heading by embracing emerging technologies,” said Parsadan, also in a statement. “At the same time, we’re committed to nurturing our team and building a culture of growth, where we advance together by supporting one another.”
“We aim to leverage AI as a tool to support our brilliant artists and creatives,” said Dewey. “Under Dan, Adrian, and Morteza’s leadership, we’re already integrating AI in exciting and impactful ways, not as a bolt-on, but as a core part of our technical process, helping to speed up workflows, explore ideas more quickly, and make it easier to share and evolve concepts across the team.”
Monroy’s immediate impact at Covert includes recent campaigns for Go RVing and Sonic. He joined the company after three years as VFX supervisor at The Mill, where he led work for Topgolf and holiday spots for Marks & Spencer. A self-taught artist, he got his start at Spain's Ilion Animation Studios in 2008 as a lighting and compositing assistant. From there, he freelanced around the world, working on films in Argentina and Russia before landing at Aardman Animations in the UK. Monroy has collaborated with such visual effects companies as Electric Theatre Collective, MPC, and One of Us, among others, bringing extensive experience from such productions as Bridgerton, The Sandman, and The Matrix Resurrections, as well as many commercials for major brands worldwide.
“We are working to transform Covert into a reference point in the sector,” said Monroy. “We have built a great culture here, driven by talented people, teamwork, and a huge love for art and technology. I am truly excited to contribute to shaping our vision for the future.”
[Photo caption: Adrian Monroy, Dan Andrew, Morteza Parsadan, from L to R]
