About me
Debbie Klein became Chief Executive of Engine in 2010, having been Joint Chief Executive for the previous 2 years. She runs the UK business, overseeing the 10 partner companies (which include disciplines such as digital communications, advertising, direct marketing, public relations and strategy consultancy), leading key Client relationships and ensuring the attraction and retention of the best talent in the industry. She was Chief Executive of WCRS from 2005-2008 and continues to be involved as Chairman of the advertising agency. She was a founding partner in the management buyout of WCRS in 2004. Prior to that she was Head of Planning at WCRS for five years and started her career at AC Nielsen and Saatchi and Saatchi as a Strategic Planner.
Debbie Klein has been named one of the Sunday Times ‘Top 40 under 40 in Media’ and is one of Campaign’s ‘Women of Today’. Engine has been named one of the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For, for the past three years. She has also been Centre London since 2010. Debbie has been Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Community recognised as Business Leader of the Year by The South African in 2011.
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She took charge of WCRS a year later, and ran the agency for three years before moving on to become Chief Executive of Engine Europe in June 2008. During this time she has welcomed a number of new companies into the group, with head count now numbering more than 850 in the UK alone.
In January 2016, Debbie's remit was extended to include Asia Pacific. She now oversees Engine’s offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai in addition to her existing UK and European responsibilities. Shortly afterwards, she was named as one of Ad Age's Women to Watch in their inagural list of female industry leaders in Europe.
Debbie is fiercely passionate about the role of women in the communications industry, and is a member and former president of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications in London). She was named as one of Campaign’s AdLand Trailblazers in 2013, and was also awarded Business Leader of the Year 2011 by The South African.
