Source: Ad Age
The industry is increasingly moving away from traditional distinctions between “creative” and “performance” agencies. The latest career move by Abbey Klaassen, formerly CEO of Dentsu Creative U.S. and global brand president, underscores how the market is restructuring around a model where growth, media, technology, and creativity operate as one integrated business system.
Klaassen is leaving Dentsu Creative to become CEO of Tinuiti, one of the most significant performance marketing agencies in the United States, which in recent years has been actively transforming itself from a specialized performance shop into a broader full-funnel marketing organization.
In this role, she succeeds Zach Morrison, who is stepping back from day-to-day leadership after more than two decades of building the company. Under his leadership, and with backing from investment firm New Mountain Capital, Tinuiti has grown into an organization of approximately 1,200 employees.
From media journalism to top agency leadership
Klaassen’s career path further highlights how today’s marketing industry increasingly values leaders who understand not only creativity, but also broader market, media, and business dynamics.
Before rising through agency leadership, Klaassen built her career as an editor and associate publisher at Ad Age, before moving to digital agency 360i, which was later integrated into Dentsu Creative. Within the organization, she advanced rapidly – from president of the New York office to CEO of the U.S. business in 2023, and later to global leadership responsibilities.
Her appointment at Tinuiti comes at a time when the company is seeking to position its evolution beyond the traditional performance marketing framework.
Over the past several years, Tinuiti has systematically expanded far beyond search and social specialization. The agency is now increasingly competing with large integrated networks through a full-funnel approach that includes top-tier media planning capabilities.
Notable examples include securing Super Bowl advertising placements for brands such as Instacart and Liquid I.V., as well as winning the full-funnel media account for Carter’s Inc. across U.S. and Canadian markets – clear signs that Tinuiti is moving deeper into territory traditionally dominated by major holding companies.
These moves signal a broader industry transformation: performance agencies no longer want to remain operational acquisition partners, but are positioning themselves as strategic growth partners for entire brands.
Alongside Klaassen’s appointment, Tinuiti has also named Bryan Wiener as chairman of the board. Wiener, former CEO of Profitero+ and co-founder of AI company 37Arc, brings additional expertise at the intersection of marketing, data, and artificial intelligence.
His experience, combined with his previous collaboration with Klaassen dating back to their 360i days, strongly suggests that Tinuiti is not simply executing an organizational shift, but building a long-term transformation of its business model.
