Russel Howcroft (born 1965) is an Australian businessman and media personality best known as a panellist on the ABC television program The Gruen Transfer.
Howcroft is currently host of Breakfast with Ross & Russel on 3AW
Howcroft grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern and attended Scotch College in Hawthorn.[1] He is a passionate Melbourne Demons supporter and has served as a club board member.[2]
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[3] and remained in the position until February 2017 before moving to PwC[4] just months before the network was placed into voluntary administration.[5] Howcroft holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Monash University.
In May 2017, Howcroft was appointed Chair of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.[6]
In September 2011, it was announced Howcroft would host Saturdays on the Weekend Break afternoon program on 3AW, whilst Tom Elliott filled in for Derryn Hinch on the drive program.[7]
In June 2020, 3AW announced that Howcroft will join 3AW Breakfast from Monday 3 August, following John Burns' retirement[8] from radio.[9] [10] In December 2021, 3AW Breakfast won an ACRA for Best On-Air Team AM.[11]
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,[12] which aired on the ABC in 2019.
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.[13]
He has written/co-written three best-selling books, with his most recent book Right Brain Workout II now being published throughout the world.