If we had a dollar for every time someone mentioned in-housing to us this year, we’d be able to shout a couple of rounds at B&T’s looming Christmas do.
That said, if we had a dollar every time AI was mentioned, we’d be putting on a Merivale-style bash in the Hordern Pavilion. But I digress.
In-housing, it seems, is a growing phenomenon with businesses and marketing teams looking to have direct control over outputs whether creative development and execution or media planning and buying. There’s every chance, too, with the disruption agency land is currently experiencing that staffers who once enjoyed the fast-paced, ever-changing work are looking for something a bit more, well, constant.
Before we get into the top 10, there are a host of folks who were just outside the top 10. Simon Cookson from Foxtel’s Balboa, for instance as well as the teams from Xero, MYOB and more. But we have to be ruthless.
B&T’s Best of the Best is rapidly drawing close to the end of its 2025 showing. And what a year it’s been. But we still have three lists remaining, including two in the final week of the year before we shut up shop on 19 December. Nominate who you think should be celebrated via the form below. Best of the Best will be returning for 2026, too, with a new, invigorated look and refreshed process to ensure no stone is left unturned when we’re putting these together. But more on that next year.
10. Gemma Poesaste, Head of Roam (Telstra)
Telstra’s creative work has been celebrated the world over. But a couple of months ago, it formally announced Roam, its new in-house creative agency, had launched.
Described as “creative outsiders on the inside” it is designed to bring greater agility and cultural relevance to Telstra’s output. Over the past six months its been building quite the lineup of creative talent with Gemma Poesaste at its helm. In fact Roam could already have some 50-odd people in its midst.
Given how its ‘Telstrut’ became quite the phenomenon, we expect there’s going to be a significantly more to come from Roam.
9. Elsa Beaumont, agency director, Splash (Treasury Wine Estates)
Elsa Beaumont’s career history reads like a who’s who of leading creative agencies with stints at DDB Melbourne, Clemenger, Mother and Wunderman Thompson.
But in April 2022, she joined Splash the in-house agency for Treasury Wine Estates. Now, she leads a team of more than 25 across creative, design, programmatic, search and social media as well as data and analytics and production.
It works across all the Treasury Wine brands from Penfolds to Pepperjack and 19 Crimes to Squealing Pig. It work is working, too, with Squealing Pig campaigns picking up Effies and Clios alike in the past. The standout recent work, however, was its campaign with Snoop Dogg which swap the Cali rapper head to the ‘G.
8. Josh Mann, global head of creative, Movember Content Studio
Josh Mann is the global head of creative at the Movember Content Studio. Here, he manages the creative for execution for campaigns, brand development, content creation, advertising, digital and graphic design for the charity across 5 countries and 20 international markets.
Its work has been very impressive, however, and recognised at this year’s IHAC Awards, where it won the award for best integrated campaign. Its ‘Shit Mos’s Save Lives’ campaign picked up a bronze at this year’s AWARD Awards, too.
We’re big fans of its more recent work with Pat Cummins, however.
7. Vinetha Manthena, global head of digital performance, King Living
Vinetha Manthena has been with King Living, and during that time has renovated the furniture brand’s in-house media team to drive its next phase of growth.
Starting her career agency side (like most on this list) Manthena rose to become Zenith’s head of performance before departing for Optus where she led the telco’s push to in-house media buying. In this role she led the team to consistently meet its sales targets while improving media efficiency and cutting cost per acquisition significantly though smarter, more connected thinking. A short stint at CommBank followed where she led its in-house media team, too.
In pulling together this Best of the Best list Manthena came very highly recommended for her consistent market-leading work.
6. Ben Oliver, media and ICP lead Mars Petcare
Ben Oliver has been with Mars Petcare for a little under a year, following a seven-year spell at Treasury Wine Estates where he created the Splash in-house media agency.
Oliver is a well-known and regarded speaker and judger of awards, as well as a straight shooter on LinkedIn more than ready to call out questionable efforts at marketing and media science.
Now with the his feet well and truly under the table at Mars Petcare, there’s plenty for Oliver to get his teeth into.
5. Sarah Hetherington, head of production and operations, CBAgency (CommBank)
Sarah Hetherington has been with CommBank for nearly five years following a five-year stint at—guess where—its longstanding creative agency M+C Saatchi.
CBAgency was launched a little under two years ago and has transformed from an in-house production department to a fully fledged agency. Another who came highly recommended to B&T from those in the in-house know, CBAgency is growing at pace, too, keeping the bank top of mind and atop the country’s most valuable brands list. Rob Martin Murphy is the creative lead at CBAgency and could just as easily have found himself on this list.
4. Rambo Goraya, executive creative director, Sportsbet
Rambo Goraya leads the Sportsbet internal agency to produce some of the best (and easily the funniest) creative work in the country.
He’s been with Sportsbet for more than 13 years after joining from the ABC in 2012 as a content producer. Sportsbet was something of a trailblazer in the world of in-house agencies, allowing it to produce on-brand work through its sprawling owned channels that hits the mark every time.
Now nearly three years into his gig as the ECD, Goraya’s mitts are all over its brilliant work from this year, including the ‘Have A Crack’ AFL campaign, its Spring Racing Carnival spots and even its 4.5-metre tall monument to the “whingeing poms” ahead of this year’s Ashes series.
3. Marcel Hashimoto, head of media, Youi
Youi has almost become the poster child for in-house agencies of late and as its head of media, Marcel Hashimoto has played a big role in helping it get there. In fact, it’s become such an important fixture in Australia’s in-house agency landscape that it won the in-house agency of the year title at the IHAC Awards earlier this year.
One could argue that Angela Greenwood should really be on this list, but her role extends far beyond the in-house agency. Hashimoto’s career has taken him from Brazil to Sydney with Match Media, Bohemia and Essence before joining Youi in May 2023.
With no signs of slowing down, Youi is showing that its in-house model keeps delivering result after result.
2. Georgie Bugelly, group head of agency services, Asahi Beverages 1House
Georgie Bugelly has been with Asahi’s 1House agency for just under three years following seven years at Cummins&Partners, VMLY&R London and BMF.
Since joining, Bugelly has helped take 1House to new heights with impressive work across its staple of brands. The agency picked up two IHAC Awards earlier this year, as well as a Bronze Social & Influencer Cairns Crocodile and a Bronze Effie for for ‘Great Migration’ for Great Northern. It was also a finalist in the Best Creator-Led Campaign category at this year’s B&T Awards.
This impressive work only looks set to continue, too, with 1House continually growing its ranks.
1. Cat van der Werff, executive creative director, Canva
But topping this year’s list is Cat van der Werff, executive creative director at Canva. She’s been with the Aussie startup scene darling for nearly eight years after stints at Re Brand Consultancy and the Frost*collective among others.
She leads Brand Studio, Canva’s in-house creative agency and was central to driving its global rebrand as well as its recent campaigns seen around the world in the UK, US and beyond.
The Brand Studio team is growing apace and recently topped more than 100 staff, giving van der Werff a roster of creative firepower few could dream of. Canva’s new Affinity product is providing another blank canvas onto which van der Werff can make her mark, too. Get ready.
