So, who is Russell?
Russell likes chasing magic
For the past few years, that's meant diving into businesses, behaviours and categories that he previously knew nothing about and building wonderful, usable pathways
He's worked with founders and CXOs of startups, giants and the restless middle to build disruptive value. He does this by reading a system fast, finding what's blocking growth, and creating sustaining solutions
He feels everything is worth the obsession.
That means exploring sidequests, decoding the abstract, spotting the unnoticed patterns, and knowing a little about everything.
Mostly, he tries to make things easier and more enjoyable for people. If he can make something lighter and a bit more fun, then it's a job well done; and the part he enjoyed the most.
FEW PRINCIPLES THAT GUIDE MY THINKING
Frame it fast, frame it right
A problem snaps into focus when you give it the right frame. Decisions get easier, ideas get cleaner, and the whole project moves faster with clarity
Play is the secret sauce
Play opens new paths that logic alone can’t find. I cross categories, borrow strange ideas, and test things quickly to uncover possibilities others overlook.
Be obsessed
Finding the truth demands digging deep, questioning everything, and being obsessive about first principles
Keep it simple and make it matter
Great strategy feels obvious once you see it. Clean, usable, and pushed just far enough to be unforgettable.
Always chase valuable growth
There's business as usual, and there's new growth. Enabled by unlocking latent strengths and fuelled by discovering fresh opportunities
WORK EXPERIENCE
Open Strategy and Design
BRAND STRATEGIST
JULY 2019 - NOV 2025
I work at the intersection of insight, business context, and storytelling; and using them to unlock disruptive growth by solving fundamental problems.
Delivered 25+ brand and business transformation projects across health, F&B, luxury, real estate, jewelry, education, manufacturing and entertainment.
Worked directly with founders, product leads, and marketing teams to translate insights into value propositions.
Conducted semiotics, ethnography, and behavioural research to decode category narratives and competitive landscapes
Facilitated cross-functional workshops for idea generation in NPD and experience redesign projects, and for organisation culture exercises
Created organisational culture interventions by launching an internal platform, OpenTribe, that improved morale and collaboration through gamified systems and playful experiences.
Authored thought pieces on category futures and human culture for LinkedIn and the website blog
SKILLSET
Growth led Positioning
Business and Product Strategy
User and Market Insight
Rivalry proposition
Competition benchmarking
Customer segmentation
Narrative design
Category analysis
Opportunity mapping
NPD experimentation
Product Discovery
Business model exploration
Roadmapping
JTBD analysis
Ethnography
Semiotics
Trend decoding
Behavioural science
EDUCATION
Bachelors of Science (Statistics)
ST. XAVIER'S COLLEGE (MUMBAI)
CLASS OF 2018
XAVIER'S INSTITUTE OF COMMUNICAITONS
Postgraduate Diploma in Advertising and Marketing
CLASS OF 2019
"To be playful is not to be trivial or frivolous, or to act as though nothing of consequence will happen. On the contrary, when we are playful with each other we relate as free persons, and the relationship is open to surprise; everything that happens is of consequence. It is, in fact, seriousness that closes itself to consequence, for seriousness is a dread of the unpredictable outcome of open possibility. To be serious is to press for a specified conclusion. To be playful is to allow for possibility whatever the cost to oneself."
JAMES P CARSE
Let’s work together?
Write to me at saldanharussell@gmail.com