Bob Russell is a brand strategist with more than 30+ years of experience helping beer and beverage brands including cannabis beverage, spirits and other craft beverages build stronger brands and sharper market positions. At First Key Consulting, he advises founders, executive teams, and investors on brand strategy, positioning, portfolio architecture, and go-to-market direction, bringing a rare combination of strategic discipline and operator perspective. His work helps clients clarify what makes their brands distinctive, align commercial and creative decisions, and improve performance in increasingly competitive categories.

Before joining First Key, Bob co-founded Collective Arts and served in senior leadership roles spanning president and chief creative officer, helping grow the business from startup to an internationally recognized beverage brand distributed across multiple countries. He also co-founded Collective Project, extending that brand-building experience into cannabis beverages in the US and Canada. Earlier in his career, he led Russell Branding advising clients including Diageo, Molson Coors, AB InBev and Nestlé on brand strategy and creative direction. Across those roles, he worked closely with leadership teams on growth strategy, innovation, brand development, and market relevance in complex, fast-moving categories.

Bob has guest-taught at OCAD University and the University of Vermont's Grossman School of Business. Over the course of his career, he has built a reputation for combining strategic insight with practical execution in ways that matter to founders and senior executives alike. Outside of First Key, Bob enjoys hiking, skiing, and mountain biking in the mountains around Stowe, Vermont.