Alkemy X Makes Major Leadership Investment for the Next Era of Visual Effects
Alkemy X, the award-winning global creative partner with a 45-year legacy of visual effects and post-production expertise, today announced the addition of four accomplished leaders to its visual effects division. Joining Alkemy X are Executive Vice President, VFX Tom Kendall; Senior VFX Supervisor Adam Avitabile; Senior VFX Producer Jon Howard; and Vice President of Strategic Growth Juliana Sparks.
This transition comes at a pivotal moment as the visual effects industry has undergone a significant period of transformation. While consolidation, restructuring and uncertainty continue to reshape the competitive landscape, Alkemy X has moved decisively in the opposite direction—bringing on senior leaders to reshape its team, expand creative capabilities, and position itself for long-term growth.
This investment reflects Alkemy X’s long-term strategy and its confidence in where the industry is headed. Rather than waiting for the market to stabilize, the company made this laser-focused move to expand leadership, broaden its creative capabilities and position itself for the next generation of premium visual effects work during a period when much of the industry has focused on contraction rather than expansion.
“Great visual effects companies aren't built by chasing projects – they are built by assembling exceptional people,” says Justin B. Wineburgh, President & CEO of Alkemy X. “Tom, Adam, Jon and Juliana have each built remarkable careers. What made this opportunity most compelling was the chance to bring them to Alkemy X as a team. Together, they have built trust over many years, solved incredibly difficult creative challenges, and earned the confidence of clients and filmmakers time and time again. That kind of proven chemistry is hard to build – and even rarer to find. This is a home run where we have landed on something so much greater than the sum of its parts.”
“Bringing on these four individuals reflects a broader philosophy at Alkemy X. We recognize that exceptional visual effects companies have enduring relationships between artists, producers and clients—not simply technology or scale,” Wineburgh continues. “By investing in proven leadership with a demonstrated history of success, and then combining that experience with the exceptional team already at Alkemy X, we believe we've assembled one of the strongest, most collaborative and dynamic VFX teams in the industry.”
As Executive Vice President, VFX, Tom Kendall’s appointment marks the beginning of a new chapter for Alkemy X’s visual effects business. Kendall brings more than three decades of executive leadership across business development, production and studio operations, and will lead strategic direction and long-term growth. With proven success working closely with artists, producers, and clients across episodic and feature collaborations, Kendall helped lead the visual effects on projects including Star Trek: Discovery, The Mandalorian, NCIS, The Walking Dead, and The Hurt Locker.
“I am ecstatic to lead the visual effects team at Alkemy X and look forward to contributing to its legacy of storytelling and innovation,” said Kendall. “There is a great team in place already, and a history of excellence which has persevered for over four decades. As a whole, Alkemy X continues to evolve with purpose and confidence to remain at the forefront of the entertainment industry.”
Joining Kendall is Senior VFX Supervisor Adam Avitabile, who will oversee the creative and technical execution of projects. Widely respected for combining artistic excellence with practical production leadership, Avitabile has spent his career helping filmmakers execute ambitious creative visions at the highest level. His credits span Criminal Minds, Fear the Walking Dead, Carnival Row, Black Swan, Fast Five, Apocalypto, and Lost, for which he earned a Visual Effects Society Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program.
Also joining Alkemy X is Senior VFX Producer Jon Howard, who will lead production operations and client collaboration across a growing slate of entertainment work. Howard has a reputation for leading complex, large-scale projects through creative and technical challenges while fostering long-term relationships with filmmakers, studios and production teams. He has extensive production leadership experience on acclaimed television series, including Ponies, Narcos, Narcos: Mexico, Wednesday, Orange Is the New Black, Castle, NCIS, Extant, and Weeds. His expertise, technical leadership and strong client relationships will further strengthen Alkemy X's collaborative approach to visual effects.
Rounding out the team is Vice President of Strategic Growth Juliana Sparks, who will deepen relationships with studios, streamers and production companies to accelerate the continued expansion of Alkemy X's visual effects division. Sparks will also work to expand the company's integrated creative, production, editorial and visual effects offering to position Alkemy X for long-term success in new markets and industries, while reinforcing its reputation as the creative production partner organizations turn to when quality is non-negotiable.
As the entertainment industry continues to evolve, Alkemy X believes the future belongs to studios that combine creative excellence, trusted relationships and experienced leadership. These appointments reinforce the company's long-term commitment to investing in creative excellence at a time when much of the industry is pulling back – positioning Alkemy X to deliver premium visual effects for the industry's most demanding episodic and feature productions.