Hornet Announces Team Movements with Karen Lawler and Dez Stavracos

Hornet has announced that Karen Lawler, formerly of Psyop and Blacklist, has joined as head of production, whilst Dez Stavracos has become Hornet’s first-ever production supervisor.

The team movements come at a time when production outfits across the industry are facing 'unprecedented' challenges. But despite the hardships, Hornet feels grateful for their own continued growth across the studio.

Hornet managing partner, Michael Feder, said: “It’s been a year of adaptation. I’m incredibly proud of the way our team has responded to the challenges we’ve all faced. To be growing from within is always wonderful to see, and we couldn’t be more excited for Dez. It’s also always good to welcome people from outside our studio who can come in and show us new ways of seeing and doing things that we maybe hadn’t considered before. This made Karen the perfect candidate for us.”

Karen arrives at Hornet with 20+ years of experience producing content in various mediums, and has been working in commercials since 2007. To say that she brings a wealth of expertise would be an understatement. With a background in fine arts, graphic design, photography, and editorial, Karen has a deep knowledge of the creative side of things. And having been a freelance producer at 1stAveMachine, ODD, Charlex, and MPC - to name just a few - not to mention 10 years at Blacklist plus an EP role at Psyop, she’s seen it all when it comes to production.

In her new role as HOP, Karen will manage and oversee all studio resources at Hornet. She will ensure every project gets the creative support it needs and will work closely with the EP’s and heads of 2D and CG. Karen commented: “Hornet is a lovely family composed of so many talented people and directors. It's growing, and it's really exciting to be part of that growth and to be able facilitate future development."

Dez Stavracos, meanwhile, will become Hornet’s first-ever production supervisor. It wasn’t long ago - a year almost to the date in fact - that Dez was promoted to senior producer at Hornet. Now he’s back in the promotional limelight after successfully reshaping and nurturing Hornet’s 2D department over the last year.

According to managing director Hana Shimizu: “Dez has consistently shown a commitment to supporting and training PA’s, production coordinators, and junior artists within the studio. In his new role he will continue to provide such guidance in addition to ensuring everyone knows how Hornet’s production processes should work and be implemented.”

Dez added: “I gravitate towards building an environment where everyone can feel creative and supported. I’m looking forward to taking what I’ve done with the 2D department across to other disciplines of the studio. Overall, I’m just really pumped.”