Debbie Klein

Debbie is one of the founding partners of Engine. She has been the Chief Executive of Engine UK since 2010 and in 2016 was named Chief Executive Europe and Asia Pacific. Engine comprises 14 best-in-class businesses providing the full spectrum of marketing services. Working with 1 in 4 of the Top 100 Marketing spenders, 60% of Engine’s revenue comes from digital. Engine has been a Sunday Times ‘Best Company to Work For’ seven years in a row from 2011-2017. Recently named in Ad Age’s 20 Women to Watch in Europe in 2016, Debbie is responsible for integrating new businesses, such as business intelligence specialists ORC, into Engine’s European offering and growing Engine’s credentials in Asia Pacific. Debbie was educated at the University of Cape Town and attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Programme. She began her agency career as a strategist at Saatchi & Saatchi, becoming head of planning at WCRS in 1999. She was a founding partner in the buyout of WCRS in 2004 that eventually led to the creation of Engine. A year on, Debbie was named Chief Executive of WCRS. In 2014, Debbie led the acquisition of Engine by Lake Capital; the deal that helped give Engine its global footprint. The Engine network now comprises 13 businesses, with 20 offices across 4 continents and over 2,500 staff globally. Debbie was named Woman of the Year by The Drum in 2014, an AdLand Trailblazer by Campaign in 2013, Business Leader of the Year 2011 by The South African and one of the Sunday Times’ ‘Top 40 under 40 in Media’. Debbie is a past president of WACL and a member of the 30% Club. She is also the former Chair of the Board of Trustees of JW3.