TABOO leadership team.
TABOO is celebrating 25 years in the industry as a Melbourne-based independent creative agency.
Founder and CEO Andrew Mackinnon has announced he will be stepping down from his role and moving to Chairman of the Board.
He founded TABOO in 2000 as a 20-year-old Melbourne kid with no marketing pedigree, a stack of coupons, and a knack for getting people talking.
“In the early years, it was wild. Naivety was outgunned by belief and raw hustle. We learned on the fly and followed our instincts,” Mackinnon said.
“The office didn’t have internet for the first two years. Social media didn’t exist. Everything we made came from what we saw, felt and lived.”
“We weren’t an ad agency. We were a crew of ambitious misfits with ideas, heart and audacity, writing the rules as we went.
“Co-presenting at SXSW Austin with my brother James, stripping down to our underwear. Building Supafish on the Yarra. Designing 10,000sqm of brand experience at the AO. It’s been an amazing ride, and I’d do it all again.
“Richard Hack, Sas Landy, Reece Hobbin — you built this with me.
"Every pitch. Every punt. Every late night. And in the last decade, Kate Prowse, James Mackinnon and Charlotte Adorjan brought the kind of leadership, clarity and creative firepower the next chapter demanded.
“TABOO has outgrown me in the best possible way. We’ve built something real, not just in the work, but in the people. And I’m excited to see where the next generation takes it.”
James Mackinnon, Andrew’s brother and long-time business partner, said that TABOO will always carry Andrew’s spirit.
“From the briefs we chase, the way we do business, to the chaos of our Christmas parties, he’s been the cultural heartbeat of this agency,” James Mackinnon said.
“As he sets his sights on new projects, we’ll keep driving toward the collective vision, to be the most notorious creative agency in the world.
“With this team, and the next 25 years ahead of us we have no doubt we’ll get there.”
Taboo’s leadership team will now include managing director James Mackinnon, general managers Kate Prowse and Gus Pearce, executive creative director Charlotte Adorjan, finance director Kim Stoddart, head of experience Sam Wright, company director Jonathan Isaacs and chairman Andrew Mackinnon.
“I’ll still be here, just with a different brief,” said Andrew Mackinnon.
“TABOO’s next chapter should feel fresh, potent, and a little bit dangerous. That’s how we stay notorious.”
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