Charu Menon Elevated to Heckler Singapore’s Managing Director, Cody Amos Named Partner

Heckler Singapore has promoted Charu Menon to managing director and Cody Amos to partner, as the design and VFX studio embarks on the next phase of growth.

After three years running Heckler Sydney's production department, Charu set her sights on expanding Heckler's footprint in Asia and moved to Singapore in 2019. She became a partner in the business in 2021. A globally awarded VFX producer and documentary creator with over 15 years of production experience, her work has been recognised at Cannes Lions, D&AD, AWARD, Spikes Asia, DocEdge, St.Kilda, and Adstars, amongst others.

In the last two years Charu has served on Film Craft and Visual Effects Juries for D&AD, Ciclope Asia, Ciclope Global, AdStars and Immortal Awards. She was also named one of Campaign Asia’s Women to Watch in 2021. She is currently on the Film Craft jury for Cannes Lions 2023.

As managing director, she will lead Heckler Singapore’s growing team of 25. While the focus continues to be high-end TVCs, Charu plans to drive expansion into new areas of creative tech including virtual production, digital, immersive, and interactive experiences, across both short and long formats.

She said: “It’s an awfully exciting time from a technology standpoint to be leading a design and VFX house. The possibilities are endless. From 3D anamorphic billboards to AR interactive experiences to shooting our first virtual production on a volume, Singapore has been a blast so far. Witnessing our brand’s profile and the team grow in the last four years has been immensely gratifying. I’m a proud mum! We will continue to be purveyors of high craft in the region as we embark on this next chapter. Heckler 2.0.”

Cody Amos joined Heckler Singapore as a creative director in 2020 and has now been promoted to partner. He previously worked around the world as a VFX artist, from Weta to Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) in Singapore, on a string of Hollywood blockbusters including 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'; 'Spider-Man: Far from Home'; 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'; 'Black Panther' and 'Kong'. As CD of Heckler, Cody has directed and supervised campaigns for global brands including Nike, Riot Games, Samsung, One Plus, Lazada and Jewel. He is a speaker at the Spikes Asia Academy and is currently a jury member for D&AD 2023 for the Visual Effects category.

Cody added: "I've been trying to help run Heckler for a while now. At first, probably uninvited. But now the directors seem to think it's a good idea to actually give me some real responsibility. So I'll try not to mess it up. I can still blame Charu of course, as she's the real boss. But in all seriousness, I genuinely am really chuffed and excited about this next step. We have such a talented team, and I intend to help them all grow into the best artists in town. And I would like to make Heckler the best VFX and post house in the region. Can't be too hard right?"

Heckler Singapore works with leading agencies and production companies to deliver high-end visual effects and postproduction for global brands.

Richard Mayo-Smith, who is departing as managing director at the end of May, said: “It has been an amazing four years at Heckler, from starting the Singapore operation from nothing, to seeing it grow and thrive in what is a very competitive environment. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved, but the time has come for me to spend more time with the dog and the wife and explore new challenges. I leave it in Charu’s very safe hands and wish both her and the team the utmost future success.”