J. Russell Findlay (born May 4, 1965) is an American businessman,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and an

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

and

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

executive. He is currently the global chief marketing officer at Hiscox, an international specialist insurer as well as a small business owner and a managing director of a non-profit organization.

Career

Findlay is currently the global chief marketing officer at Hiscox and was the first

chief marketing officer A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a chief brand officer (CBO), is a C-suite corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. The CMO leads brand management, marketing communications (including adver ...

in the history of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. Before MLS, he worked for

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

with the

American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame The Advertising Hall of Fame, operated by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), began in 1948 as a result of a proposal by the New York Ad Club and its president, Andrew Haire, to the Advertising Federation of America, the predecessor organiza ...

inductee Alan Pottasch. He worked at PepsiCo under the chairmen Roger Enrico, Steven Reinemund and Indra Nooyi. While there, he helped to launch SoBe Mr. Green soft drink, Sierra Mist and Sierra Mist Free, including helping to produce a TV commercial putting the soccer players Freddy Adu and

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

together for the first time. Findlay also launched

Pepsi Max Pepsi Max (also known as Pepsi Black in some countries and Pepsi Zero in Poland and Portugal) is a low-calorie, sugar-free cola, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to Pepsi and Diet Pepsi, except for Norway, where it is the main Pepsi flavor. ...

while at PepsiCo. He was responsible for negotiating an on-air integrated marketing sponsorship deal with ABC's ''

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

''. Findlay started his career at

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

as a territory sales rep before moving to new business innovation then into its brand marketing department at Lever House.

Memberships and associations

* Board of directors of the

Association of National Advertisers Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

* Board of directors of the Business Marketing Association of New York. * Chairman of the Sponsorship and Events Committee of the

* Member of the

Advertising Self-Regulatory Council BBB National Programs, an independent non-profit organization that oversees more than a dozen national industry self-regulation programs that provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services to companies, including outside and ...

's National Advertising Review Board

Honors and awards

He has earned two Effie Awards for effective advertising., several Financial Communication Society Awards including Best in Show, a Global Ace award, the CMO Club Growth Award the ANA's B2B Marketer of the Year and was named as one of 2014's 30 most influential marketers in the world. He has been a final round judge of the Effie Awards, the ANA's B2 awards, the BMA Global Ace Awards and the FCS Portfolio Awards In 2019, Findlay was awarded the FCS Jamie DePeau Leadership Award from the Financial Communications Society. The objective of the Jamie DePeau Leadership award is to honor, every year, FCS members who, through personal and professional contributions to their communities, serve as living examples of the selfless, inspirational leadership that Jamie DePeau embodied during her career in financial services marketing.

Publications and teaching

Findlay has written or has been mentioned or quoted in a number of publications including: Books: * Nick Johnson, ''The Future of Marketing'' * ''Target2000'', Video: * The Association of National Advertisers, Advertising Education Foundation CMO series Podcasts: * "In Financial Services, Storytelling is more important than ever", ''CMO.com'' Print: * Blake Morgan, "Customer Experience Transformation: One CMO's Powerful Story", ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' * "7 Simple Steps to Expanding Overseas" and "Uber's Name May Be Too Tarnished to Keep. Here's Why", '' Inc.'' * Kate Maddox, "ANA/BMA16: A Business Insurance Company Embraces Risk", ''

Adage A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

'', June 2, 2016 * "In Its New Ad Campaign, Small-Business Insurer Hiscox Asks if America Has 'Lost Its Courage'" and "Young CEOs Open Up About Their Failures", '' Adweek'' * "Hiscox Takes a Risk With Revamped Insurance Branding", "VIEW FROM THE TOP" and "Hiscox Debuts Barcode Campaign to Target Small Businesses£, ''Chief Marketer'' * ''B-to-B Marketer'', Winter 2016 * ''Quality Financial Media'' * "Encourage Courage: 5 Questions With Hiscox CMO Russ Findlay" and "If IWD Had a Hammer: 5 Questions With Hiscox CMO Russ Findlay", ''Brandchannel'' * ''Carrier Management'' Findlay is a frequent guest lecturer at business schools. He has lectured and presented at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Yale School of Management The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Admi ...

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and one of ...

, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business,

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

's Kelley School of Business,

SUNY Oswego State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public university in Oswego, New York. It has a total student population of 6,756 and the campus size is 700 acres. SUNY Oswego offers more than 120 undergraduate, graduate ...

and

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

among others. He is also a frequent presenter at industry conferences on marketing and advertising topics.

Education

His undergraduate degree is in marketing from

, where he is on the board of the School of Business. He also has an MBA with a concentration in marketing and advertising from

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

and a

Financial Technology Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

certificate from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Personal

Findlay is related to the advertising and media couple, the ''New York Post'' editor Joseph Cookman and his wife, the ''

Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century ...

'' editor Mary Bass. He also runs the Findlay Family Foundation, a non-profit

501c3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 5 ...

organization providing college scholarships to high school seniors from underprivileged school districts. Findlay is a

US Soccer The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at ...

referee.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Russell 1965 births Living people State University of New York at Oswego alumni Xavier University alumni American advertising executives Philanthropists from New York (state) PepsiCo people Unilever people Major League Soccer executives 20th-century American businesspeople