Former adman Russel Howcroft is the public face of brand marketing and advertising in Australia thanks to his appearances on ABC's hugely successful show The Gruen Transfer and Network Ten's Recipe To Riches.

When he was twenty and partway through a marketing degree, Russel did a week's work experience at McCann Erickson agency. He fell in love with advertising and spent 24 years in the industry before joining Network Ten in 2013 as Executive General Manager, responsible for Ten's operations in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. 

Russel has worked for some of the best agencies in the world including five years in the UK at Lowe Howard-Spink. He co-founded Leonardi Brandhouse and ran his own agencies with various partners for eleven years. In 2006 he joined George Patterson Y&R, Australia's oldest agency brand. The group included The Campaign Palace, VML, IdeaWorks and BrandAsset Consulting. Before moving into television, Russel was chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands Australia and New Zealand.

In 2010, media mogul Harold Mitchell presented Russel with a much-coveted Charlie Award for his personal brand creation off the back of The Gruen Transfer.

Russel is a regular commentator on Melbourne radio. He has been a board member of Melbourne Football Club and chairman of the Advertising Federation of Australia, and is a current board member of Freeview.