About me

Russ is President of Inizio Engage XD (formerly The Creative Engagement Group)

Inizio Engage XD is proudly a UK Best Companies Top 50 Company to Work For 2022; Top 100 in 2021 and Philadelphia Best Company 2023. Mind Workplace Wellbeing Gold Award winner 2022 & 2021. Management Today DEI Workplace of the Year and Growth Initiative of the Year 2023. Creativepool Agency of the Year 2021.

Previously backed by private equity house LDC, Russ worked with LDC to found, structure and position The Creative Engagement Group (TCEG), and exit its investment in the strategic trade sale to Huntsworth (now Inizio) in 2017. Huntsworth was acquired by US Private Equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice in 2020.

Prior to Inizio, Russ was CEO of Havas Worldwide. Before that, he worked as a strategist and Head of Planning at a number of ad agencies including McCann; BDDH; HHCL & Partners; Lowe and JWT before joining Havas Worldwide as Chief Strategy Officer. Russ started professional life with Coca-Cola.

Russ is a Marketing Group of Great Britain member; Mentor and Scholarship panel member for The Marketing Academy; Forbes Business Council member; RSA Fellow; lead advisor to UWL; speaks regularly for Speakers for Schools, a Bloom ambassador and advisor for Oxford Saïd Business School.

Russ is Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Creative Mentor Network - a charity focussed on providing opportunities in the creative industries for young people from low socio-economic and diverse backgrounds.

He was Chair of the Advisory Board for isla - the events industry sustainability body and Non-Executive Director of Basketball England .

He was Management Today Leader of the Year 2023; voted Creativepool 'Creative Leader of the Year 2021'; has featured as Campaign magazine's 'Top 10 CEO'; 'Top 10 Strategist'; voted one of the UK's 'Inspirational Creative Leaders' and named in 2018 by DIMA as a Top 50 Male Advocate for Equality. In 2019 Russ was Women in Marketing's 'Equality Advocate of the Year'.