George Russell

Most recently, George Russell was the Chief Executive Officer of PureRED Integrated Marketing, which delivers a fully integrated portfolio of Digital and Traditional Marketing capabilities for their Consumer Retail and Consumer Product clients. Clients include P&G, Lowes Home Improvement Centers, J&J, Walgreens Drugstores, S.P. Richards, Church& Dwight, Chattem Brands, Stein Mart, Dollar General, Sears, Kmart, Michael's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Safeway. Headquartered in Atlanta GA, and with 7 offices across the US, PureRED is leader in helping Retailers and Manufacturers improve the return on their marketing investment by providing them with the capability to transition their traditional marketing tactics to state of the art, branded digital strategy and execution.

Since 1998, George has worked with several leading private equity firms including GSO/Blackstone, Catterton Partners, Oak Hill Capital Partners, Summit Partners, Charlesbank Capital Partners, AEA Investors, Cerberus Capital Management, and Bain Capital as an Operating Partner, CEO and/or Board Director of their portfolio companies. His assignments have included senior roles at ScentAir, American Safety Razor, Duane Reade, Control Solutions, Lornamead Brands, and Remington Outdoor.

Prior to working in private equity, George was Vice President of Global Business Management at Schick & Wilkinson Sword where he led a turnaround of the $800 million manufacturer of shaving products and toiletries. Previously, he was Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Harvard Community Health Plan, New England’s largest HMO, joining there after serving at The Gillette Company as Director of Marketing of their blades and razors business, which represented more than 65% of the company’s North American profits. George began his career at Young & Rubicam where he was the youngest Account Director in the firm’s history.

George serves on the boards of companies in various industries including consumer products, technology, and healthcare services. He has also served on the Boards of the American Marketing Association, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and Boy Scouts of America. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Western New England College, a MBA in Marketing from St. John’s University and has completed the Advanced Management Program in Marketing at Harvard Business School.