Independent agency TABOO announces several new appointments following strong momentum
Independent agency TABOO has made a series of strategic hires across the business following a period of strong momentum. The appointments come off the back of several new partnerships including Brown Family Wine Group, SEC, Remedy Drinks and Haier, alongside deepening relationships with existing clients such as TAC, the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), Tennis Australia, Vicinity Centres and BYD.
To meet growing demand, TABOO has expanded its creative, production and account management teams with talent from a wide range of backgrounds. The new hires strengthen the agency’s ability to deliver integrated ideas that land in culture and drive commercial impact.
Says Charlotte Adorjan, ECD, TABOO: “We’ve found a sweet spot at TABOO that proves intoxicating at luring the best talent in the biz. It’s a little thing called Flexibility. Can’t work 5 days a week? – Then don’t. Need to WFH or WFOOS (Work From Out of State) – Go for it, we’d hate to lose your brilliance. Need flexible hours because of kids, #LIFE, medical appointments or because you’re just not a morning person? – you do you. We trust you’ll get it done, and done brilliantly if you’re in charge of how. Talented people often don’t fit outdated work moulds, so nor do we. The industry needs to break more of the stupid ye olde rules it was built on, rather than break its precious people. Great things happen when you do.”
Says James Mackinnon, Managing Director, TABOO: “We’re grateful to be in a position to welcome people of this calibre into the fold — not because they make us bigger, but because they make our work sharper. Our job is to keep upping the ante; keep attracting people who will challenge us, keep us uncomfortable in the best way, and help push our work further to deliver results clients can feel in their business.”
The new appointments include (in alphabetical order):
Alice Cloake: Content Creative Director
Cloake is a content specialist who has found a comfortable niche somewhere in between digital marketing, brand building, social media strategy, and creative production. She’s worked in house, building social media departments for some of Australia’s most beloved brands — Swisse, Grill’d, T2Tea and Frank Green — and has built a reputation for digging up the kind of behind-the-scenes stories that make businesses feel human.
Angus Pearce: General Manager (Acting)
Pearce is a seasoned advertising leader with over 18 years’ experience across Melbourne and New York agencies such as Ogilvy Melbourne, Clemenger Melbourne, BBDO New York and Ogilvy New York. He understands the power of brands but also the importance of tapping into culture and how brands can make a difference in the world.
Ashleigh Randall: Experiential Producer
Randall is an experiential producer with 9 years’ experience delivering impactful brand activations, incentives and real-world experiences. With a background spanning agencies like Seeker and Destination, she brings a practical and creative approach to every brief, from large scale events to unexpected brand moments. Randall is passionate about creating work that not only captures attention but genuinely connects with people and drives measurable impact.
Bruce Williams: Senior Creative
Williams is a seasoned creative with more than two decades in the industry, shaping work for some of the world’s most recognisable brands. He’s led teams at Clemenger Proximity, Sputnik and CUBED Communications, bringing a clear, strategic mind and a love of ideas that cut through without complication. Williams has spent his career proving that simplicity is powerful — whether he’s building out a brand platform, crafting a TVC or fine-tuning the smallest digital detail. He’s at his best when he’s helping brands communicate what matters, in a way that feels effortless and genuinely human.
Carla Robinson: Senior Account Director
Robinson joins TABOO from Thinkerbell where she spent 4 years working across General Mills, PwC, Bupa & GWM, prior to which she was at whiteGREY and The Works. Robinson brings her trademark mix of charm and ruthless efficiency — the kind that makes clients feel safe and creatives feel…slightly nervous.
Cecilia To: Senior Experiential Producer
To was born and raised in Hong Kong and brings over 11 years of experience in event management and brand activation. She has worked with global brands such as Adidas, TUMI, AIA, and amfAR on high-profile campaigns and events. After moving to Australia, she joined Moth Design, where she played a key role in delivering major activation at the Australian Open, Melbourne Cup, and AFL for clients such as Asahi Beverages, Victoria Racing Club, and GPT. Cecilia brings ideas off the page and into the world, creating experiences people remember.
Mel Stevens and Lauren Fitzgerald: Senior Creatives
Fitzgerald and Stevens have worked together and separately at agencies including Grey Group, BWM, Leo Burnett, Cummins Nitro, Khemistry, M&C Saatchi, CHEP and AJF Partnership. They also have 35 years’ experience between them.
‘But how?’ The writer asks — who definitely isn’t Mel —
‘they look so young!’
It’s a mystery. What’s far clearer is their love of creating beautiful work that makes people feel something, or question everything.
Kate Blank: Experiential Creative Director
An Experiential Creative Director with nearly a decade shaping brand worlds across Australia and abroad, Blank’s work lives at the intersection of culture, design and storytelling. As Founding Creative Director at Studio Messa, she helped pioneer a new era of immersive brand experiences, leading global activations for Nike, Gucci, Hermès and Google — including Nike’s Global Activation of the Year in 2018. Known for crafting experiences that feel more like memories than marketing, Kate brings precision, imagination and a touch of rebellion to every project.
Luke Fleming: Group Account Director
Fleming brings two decades of agency and brand activation experience spanning disciplines such as experiential, shopper and digital marketing. With a career shaped at companies including Fortress Gaming, Traffik, TRO and Urban, his passion lies in creating brand moments that not only capture attention, but also get audiences talking, building advocacy and fostering long-term loyalty.
Lewis Brown: Designer
Brown has a strange love of perfecting pixels. From developing ideas with early visual experimentation, to refining and polishing campaigns, with technical expertise. He loves the creative process across a variety of mediums, as well as the technical development that goes into seeing creative work go into the world.
Montana McInnes: Senior Account Manager
McInnes joins TABOO with a handful of years’ experience delivering integrated and digital marketing campaigns for national and local brands across government, higher education, retail and property. McInnes thrives on being surrounded by excellent creative and helping brands resonate at all stages of the marketing funnel.
Sofie Shmid: Senior Account Manager
Shmid brings over four years’ experience managing fast-moving, multi-channel work with calm precision. She joins TABOO from Ogilvy, where she built strong client relationships and led complex projects with ease. Clear-thinking and collaborative, she’s driven by long-term partnerships and work that genuinely moves the needle.
Pictured (L-R): Lewis Brown (Designer), Luke Flemming (Group Account Director), Cecilia To (Experiential Producer), Ashleigh Randall (Experiential Producer), Kate Blank (Experiential Creative Director), Melanie Stevens (Senior Creative), Bruce Willams (Senior Creative), Lauren Fitzgerald (Senior Creative), Angus Pearce: General Manager (Acting), Nina Jost (Reception), Alice Cloake (Content Creative Director), Carla Robinson (Senior Account Director), Montana Mcinnes, Maddison Fricker (Producer).
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