Founder/Principal - Brandon N. Russell (bnr)
I have lead Sales & Marketing, Analytics, Help Desk & Customer support and Product development teams - while also overseeing; Marketing plans and schedules, Software implementations and integrations, Incentive plans and P&Ls. 20+ years in Media (Forbes, NYT) and 10+ years in Adult Beverage industry.
My focus is on harnessing technology, training, and processes to develop data-driven Sales & Marketing strategies that produce results.
I like projects, and helping teams succeed.
History
Summers 1987- 1990
In the 8th grade started watering for local commercial and residential builder during the summer. By the end of high school had three teams working for me during the summer doing landscaping and lawn maintenance
1991 - 1996
To help pay for college started working with local college land lord as building manager and started helping him flip houses
1997 - 2000
After college, started an Arts & Culture magazine on hybrid DVD and internet.
2000 - 2013
Got a temp job answering phones at Forbes office in Bay Area. Left 12 years later Director of Sales & Marketing Operations and Analytics for all of Forbes print publications, websites, and events.
2013 - 2018
Flipped houses in Bay area and San Diego. And consulted for Media companies (Forbes, NYT) helping them design and manage their Sales & Marketing Operations.
2018 - 2019
Central Coast Winery - brought in as consultant, fell in love with industry, stayed for two years. Oversaw year of year growth of ecommerce 400%, 20% club and 15% Tasting room.
2019 – 2023
Joined as 4th full time employee at start-up to lead Product development and Operations. Helped grow from 100 wineries and 2 associations in CA to close to 500 wineries and 12+ associations in CA, WA, OR.
2023 - 2024
Explored creating a Prioritized Content model for small LLM’s (Learning Language Models) that targeted mid-sized verticals with a customized Generative AI & Content Search ‘plug-in’.
Fall 2024 to Present
Even in turbulent market conditions, I couldn't stay away from the beverage industry, Context Stratagem Services.
Experience & Expertise
Experience:
-
30+ years leading Sales, Marketing and, Analytics teams
-
20+ years managing cross departmental enterprise Product and Project teams
-
10+ years Training and supervising Customer Support and Help Desk teams
Expertise:
-
10+ years Wine Industry (worked with over 400 wineries and 12+ state/regional associations)
-
20+ years in Media/Advertising