Jonathan Russell

Having worked regionally, nationally and internationally Jonathan formed QuaysideComms Ltd to help organisations and provide senior level counsel and project management skills which can be applied specifically or broadly to your organisation’s communication and reputational issues or opportunities. To date, challenges have ranged from counselling a major support charity with its marketing and fundraising communications; providing input to a professional services organisation looking to refresh its approach to business development, customer service and marketing, and helping a niche training business explore how it could move up the value chain, including advice on market evaluation. 

• Improved councillor and council reputation for transparent and democratic engagement with its electorate and other key stakeholders and partners. Launched innovative locality engagement products resulting in improved accessibility, transparency and message clarity across stakeholders.
• Led improvements to scrutiny and governance via legal/constitutional management.
• Developed online “consumer” brand and product offering includingwebcasting/webstreaming and drove improved use of marketing evaluation tools and data, along with structured client/partner relationship management.
• Led significant campaigning initiatives aligning multiple stakeholder groups.
• Results contributed to much improved Audit Commission rating. 

• Postgraduate full-time MBA (awarded with distinction). Top in class in Marketing, Strategic Management, Organisational Behaviour, Strategic Analysis & Modelling.
• Dissertation and project research into organisational reputation, brand strategy and trust.

• Led audit and improvements to communications within BT Retail with structural savings and efficiencies over £1 million as part of overall Group strategic developments.
• Provided communications strategy counsel to Marketing Director and Chief Executive of BT Retail and Group Chief Executive and Corporate Affairs Director  on key marketing communications, media and policy issues.
• Significant role in the PR relaunch of Broadband policy and products.
• Secured executive management buy-in to pro-active, reputation-led strategy integrated with customer satisfaction modelling.
• Improved senior City relationships engagement with media, Westminster, and Ofcom.

• A key member of the UK-based start up team for an innovative Finnish-owned mobile services product. 
• Managed  communications resource and policy across three continents ensuring resource deployment and appropriate cultural/marketplace sensitivities.
• Led policy and advocacy in relation to consumer issues in emerging 3G market and text messaging.

• Ledresuscitationof a troubled corporate UK brand to profitable effect through the development of a clear international corporate branding strategy, enabling the €15bn sale of the organisation to RWE in 2000.
• Drove radical overhaul of the organisation’s reputation across all stakeholders but in particular media, City, regulatory and political audiences.
• Developed and deployed a full range of functional skills, including media, CSR, customer, investor relations, above and below the line marketing with strategic vision and innovation.
• Significantly involved in international business development in Far East, US and South America. 
• Early champion for developing corporate social responsibility and environmental credentials, deployed to good effect with politicians, investors and customers

• Member of core change management team which restructured, re-branded, re-launched and re-inspired Private Patients Plan as a significant challenger brand to BUPA, ultimately facilitating sale of the business to Guardian Royal Exchange for £540 million in 2007.
• Played central part in energetic corporate turn-around through branding, external and internal PR, governance and product innovation.
• Ensured an very high profile relaunch, favourably reported in national and international media and positively cited across the main political parties.
• Developed and led significant and progressive public affairs and advocacy strategy which engaged with senior media and members of the Government and shadow Government on healthcare and long term care insurance issues.

Helped set up and run blue chip boutique agency specialising in corporate placements, MBOs, and

corporate communication audits, alongside private counsel for Chairmen and Chief Executives.Clients included airlines, retail, manufacturing and motor racing businesses.

Worked variously in internal communications, investor relations, PR and product positioning, including the innovative press and marketing launch of First Class and Wellbeing in the Air products. Developed strategic approach CSR and reputation management via work in Kuwait, Kurdistan, Malawi and Mozambique. Winner of two Chief Executive Awards for Excellence from Sir Colin Marshall and one of the youngest managers at that time selected for the Senior Management Development programme.

Qualified with distinction as a journalist in 1986. Worked, variously, as Chief Reporter for the Surrey Mirror Series (Tandridge), Deputy Chief Sub for the Reading Evening Post, along with a range of freelance national reporting and sub-editing roles, including the BBC and Sunday Correspondent. 

"Shortly after taking over as Director of Public Relations at PPP healthcare, Jonathan recruited me into my first in-house role to help him develop the organisation's Public Affairs function. Jonathan is a highly-driven and decisive leader who operated in a very challenging environment - private medical insurance and a Labour government were never going to be close friends! He is highly articulate and was very passionate about the company's business, and transmitted this passion to his team, encouraging and empowering to innovate. When he subsequently moved on to the bigger challenge of Thames Water, it was a no-brainer to follow him at the first opportunity. At Thames Water he gave me the latitude to develop my ideas for customer and stakeholder engagement and championed their practical application."

"I have worked with Jonathan at different companies and in different contexts. He is a highly professional communications leader who has a clear focus on strategic objectives alongside a tough attitude to the delivery of value for any investment made. As a client I found that he also unusually had a very open approach to the different agencies with whom he worked, encouraging a high degree of collaboration and having a clear sense of the commercial imperatives from both sides. This made for a very productive and businesslike relationship in the context of our professional lives. However, because I also like the guy we became friends outside of work."