Russel Howcroft (born 1965) is an Australian businessman and media personality best known as a panellist on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television program '' Gruen''. Howcroft is currently host of '' Breakfast with Ross & Russel'' on 3AW. Howcroft grew up in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of Malvern and attended Scotch College in Hawthorn. He is a passionate

Melbourne Demons The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

supporter and has served as a club board member.

Career

Howcroft is the former national CEO of advertising agency George Patterson Y&R (now known as Y&R ANZ). In February 2013, Howcroft was appointed as Executive General Manager of

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

and remained in the position until February 2017 before moving to

PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a Multinational corporation, multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Fo ...

just months before the network was placed into voluntary administration. Howcroft holds a

Bachelor of Business A Bachelor of Business (BBus, BBus (Major)) is a three to four year undergraduate degree in the field of business offered by universities from the post-Dawkins era in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. It is similar in format and structure to a B ...

(Marketing) from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

. In May 2017, Howcroft was appointed Chair of the

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. Opened to students in 1973 as Film and Television School (FTS), after accredita ...

Radio

In September 2011, it was announced Howcroft would host Saturdays on the ''Weekend Break'' afternoon program on 3AW, whilst

Tom Elliott Thomas or Tom Elliott may refer to: * Thomas Elliott (footballer) (1890–?), English footballer * Thomas Elliott (Australian cricketer) (1879–1939), Australian cricketer * Thomas Elliott (New Zealand cricketer) (1867–?), New Zealand cricketer ...

filled in for

Derryn Hinch Derryn Nigel Hinch (born 9 February 1944) is a New Zealand-born media personality, politician, actor, journalist and published author. He is best known for his career in Australia, on Melbourne radio and television. He served as a Senator for ...

on the drive program. In June 2020, 3AW announced that Howcroft will join ''

3AW Breakfast ''3AW Breakfast'' is an Australian breakfast radio show hosted by Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft on 3AW in Melbourne. A daily podcast of the morning's show is also produced. History In 1989, Ross Stevenson, Denis Connell and anchor Dean ...

'' from Monday 3 August, following John Burns' retirement from radio. In December 2021, 3AW Breakfast won an ACRA for Best On-Air Team AM.

Television

Howcroft has been a regular panellist on '' Gruen'' since the program's inception in 2008 and has also been guest panellist on news-chat show '' The Project''. He also fronted the documentary series ''How Australia Got Its Mojo'', which aired on the ABC in 2019.

Business

Chair of the Australian Film Television and Radio School and the co-founder of The Grid Melbourne, a festival designed to bring entrepreneurs and innovators together expected to launch in 2022. He is the Chief Creative Officer and a founding partner of Sayers Group.

Publishing

He has written/co-written three books: ''When It's Right to be Wrong'', ''The Right-brain Workout'', and ''The Right-brain Workout 2''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howcroft, Russel 1965 births Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Australian businesspeople 21st-century Australian businesspeople Australian television personalities People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne 3AW presenters People from Malvern, Victoria Businesspeople from Melbourne Melbourne Football Club administrators Monash University alumni Australian advertising executives