Senior Managing Director
Teneo
Atlanta, Ga.
As the senior managing director and head of Teneo’s Atlanta office, Radina L. Russell advises executives, board directors, of Fortune 500 companies and founder-led organizations on complex strategic, financial, and reputation-management issues. She recently launched the Board Diversity Action Alliance with former Xerox CEO and chairwoman Ursula Burns, investment specialist Gabrielle Sulzberger, Teneo, Ford Foundation, and the Executive Leadership Council to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse directors on corporate boards of directors, beginning with Black directors. “Every step along my journey I’ve advocated for increased recruitment and hiring of people of color,” she states.
Before Teneo, Russell was the group vice president and head of External Corporate Communications and Multicultural Engagement at Macy’s, Inc., a position she assumed after roles at Brunswick Group, J.P. Morgan, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Deloitte Consulting. She approaches her work with values learned from her parents, a role model at Deloitte, and her MBA coach and mentor. Above all, she relied on integrity as she navigated corporate America without a playbook. “I am honest and my relationships are built on respect and trust. I take pride in my work and take responsibility for my actions,” she asserts.
Russell has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.B.A from Columbia Business School. She is a member of the John A. Reisenbach Amplify Your Impact Advisory Council, and the co-founder and director of Harlem Girls Cheer, Inc., a competitive platform to empower the next generation of female leaders. Cheerleading helped her to discover her leadership voice when she was a teenager, she explains. She hopes it will do the same for participants in Harlem Girls Cheer. “I believe in the unlimited power and potential of women. I want to see Black and Brown girls grow into active, confident, and accomplished leaders,” she says.
