Debra Kaye

Debra Kaye is an international innovation expert specializing in culture and brand strategy for consumer businesses. She encourages her clients to become change-makers, and has helped set agendas for companies such as L'Oreal, Mars Petcare, Colgate, McDonald's, American Express, Dove Chocolate, Kimberly-Clark, Johnson & Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, Sony, and many more. As the founder of Lucule, a New York-based consultancy focusing on innovation strategies and new products, she brings a unique perspective to solving critical business issues.

BDDP/Mancebo-Kaye, the marketing company she founded in Spain, became No. 1 in the country for strategic thinking and No. 3 for creativity in under three years, according to Ballester research. This success was underpinned by her ability to inspire people to be great thinkers and to create a culture of innovation. Kaye was also a frequently featured marketing and communications writer for top Spanish business publications, appeared prominently in five books about marketing, and was named Female Entrepreneur of the Year by Spain's Tribuna Economica.

As CEO of TBWAItaly, Kaye was named the country's top marketer, overseeing business for clients such as Wind (mobile phones), Apple, Group Pernod Ricard, Bieirsdorf, and Nissan. In the U.S., she introduced her own skin care line, which was distributed nationwide in Nordstrom, Sephora, and in Saks Fifth Avenue New York. Three months into distribution, Iconoculture named it the best-positioned cosmeceutical on the market. Today, she continues to influence the industry through her writings as a columnist for Entrepreneur.com and contributions to Fast Company. A frequent commentator on American Public Media's "Marketplace" and a board member of Count Me In, Kaye remains an influential figure in supporting the growth of women-owned businesses. She is also the author of "Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and Profitable Innovation," and speaks at industry conferences and corporate gatherings worldwide on topics of innovation, branding, and marketing.