Debra Coughlin

Debra is an award-winning brand marketer whose career is a series of successes on both the agency and client sides. Her work in domestic and international marketing and advertising for such iconic brands as MasterCard, Colgate, Advil and Jell-O garnered numerous awards including the inaugural Grand Effie, Gold Effies, and Cannes Lions.

At Draftfcb, Coughlin aligns offerings in the network’s top markets worldwide to ensure seamless integration. As Draftfcb’s CMO, Coughlin leads the agency’s Global Capabilities team as well as the development, evolution and promotion of new and existing Draftfcb proprietary tools and intellectual property. She also seeds further awareness of the agency’s 6.5 Seconds That Matter operating system.

Since 2007, Coughlin had been at Citigroup as EVP/CMO for CitiCards and EVP Branding and Advertising for Citi NA’s consumer brand. Prior to Citi she was SVP Global Brand Building at MasterCard where she was a principal architect of the long-running, highly effective and wildly popular “Priceless” campaign.

Her agency experience includes leadership roles at J. Walter Thompson, where she was Senior Partner and Management Director, and Young & Rubicam, where she was SVP/Global Group Director.

Among career highlights, Coughlin has produced proven results while introducing brands like Advil and Colgate Total and turning around iconic brands like MasterCard and Jell-O.

A resident of New York, Coughlin started her career in 1982 as an assistant account executive at Young & Rubicam on Johnson & Johnson Personal Products brands and General Foods desserts division after graduating from Columbia University Graduate