Apparent welcomes trio of creatives in latest appointments

October 2, 2025 12:05

Gillian Dalla Pozza, Sam McGuinness and Leisa Ilander are Apparent's newest employees

The team at full-service agency Apparent has been bolstered with three significant creative hires.

Sam McGuinness is entering the business as creative director, visual design, responsible for managing Apparent’s full team of motion, visual and brand designers.

The position will see him work closely with Cristina Douglas — the company’s creative director for experience, who joined the agency in late June this year.

McGuinness’ appointment sees him leave his role as principal visual design lead at design software platform, Canva. Before that role, he spent over six years at RGA, first in New York as a senior designer from August 2018 to October 2019; then design director for the next five years, and then associate creative director from April 2023 to October 2024 (both in Sydney).

“It feels like no-one has quite cracked the integration of brand, visual and experience design,” McGuinness said in a media release.

“What really attracted me to Apparent is the way they put the customer at the centre of everything, creating work that doesn’t just look good, it’s deeply connected to how people actually think, feel and behave.”

Creative duo Gillian Dalla Pozza and Leisa Ilander also come to Apparent as joint creative directors. The move will see them leave their associate creative director roles at Dentsu Creative.

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Prior to this, Dalla Pozza and Ilander worked at Ogilvy, with Ilander its senior art director for more than nine years, and Dalla Pozza as a senior copywriter for over eight years.

“We’re passionate about odd-shaped ideas that make people feel something and deliver real impact, especially in digital and social spaces. Apparent is a growing agency with the talent and firepower to bring those ideas to life,” Ilander said in the same release.

“Apparent is an agency with a shared vision, where big ideas, experience design and best-in-class execution all come together,” Dalla Pozza added.

“The chance to join at such a pivotal moment and be part of the team that helps shape where the agency is headed creatively is hugely exciting.”

2025 has been a year of action for Apparent. In September, the agency was named as the creative business behind the Vanuatu Tourism Office’s (VTO) new campaign, “The Wake-Up Call”, starring New Zealand comedian and actor Ray O’Leary.

Earlier this year, Apparent signed up clients Rhythm Japan, Tip Top Australia and the World Surf League, adding the Software-as-a-service organisation Kinatico’s media account in July.

July also saw Jackson Long, Apparent’s then creative director of more than three years, depart from his role to pursue a career in social impact. Long was inspired to take the plunge after the success of the “Change Direction” — a creative work and awareness initiative he helped craft to raise awareness of suicide in Aboriginal communities.

Now that Dalla Pozza, Ilander and McGuinness are joining Apparent, the agency’s chief creative and experience officer, Hamish Stewart, expects Apparent’s clients to benefit from “best-in-class thinking”.

“I’m incredibly excited to have Sam, Gill and Leisa join the team. Modern brands are increasingly complex, coming to life across the brand experience,” Stewart said in the same release.

“With the calibre of leaders we’re attracting, plus our flexibility, structure and scale, we can bring best-in-class thinking to clients at pace. Best of all, all three are already adding immeasurably to our brilliant culture.”

Apparent’s other clients include Optus, Audi, Volkswagen and Google.