The Engine Group CEO, Europe and Asia Pacific Debbie Klein is leaving the agency to join broadcasting company Sky as its first group chief marketing and corporate affairs officer.
Klein joined The Engine Group back in 2010 and previously served as CEO, before moving into her more recent role as chief executive for the Europe and Asia Pacific regions in early 2016. Prior to joining The Engine Group she spent nearly nine years as CEO and then chairman of London-based agency WCRS.
The exact timing around Klein’s departure remains open as she aides the agency in the transition process.
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Debbie and bittersweet news for Engine, because Debbie has had a stellar career at Engine and we’ll miss her greatly,” The Engine Group executive chairman Terry Graunke said in a statement. “Debbie will still be with us for some months and the process of choosing her successor is already underway; we intend finding another strong and talented leader who also shares our vision for the future.”
Klein’s announcement follows the departure of Engine Media CEO Lisa Weinstein for Curiosity.com last October and chief experience officer Ian Schafer two months later.
Those are not the only changes at Engine Group. Today its content agency Trailer Park announced that former Doner L.A. EVP and managing director Zilha Salinas had come aboard as its new CEO. Her predecessor Rick Eiserman, who previously led both Trailer Park and Engine Group North America, will now focus on the latter role.
We have also asked Engine Group to comment on the rumors, first reported last year by The Drum, that they had been in talks regarding a potential acquisition by Deloitte. They have yet to address the matter, which has since confirmed by multiple sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations (which ultimately fell through).
At the very least, it would seem that Deloitte is in the market for an indie agency or network.