Russ Danks
Founder | Executive strategist & facilitator
An operator first, not a career consultant. Known for cutting through the noise, breaking the status quo, and getting sh*t done.
I've spent over 15 years in the trenches of the consumer, hospitality, retail, and multi-site estate sectors. At the executive level, I've held roles including Chief Innovation Officer, Marketing Director, Strategy Director, Partnership Director, and Managing Director. I know the commercial machinery from front to back, covering brand positioning, digital transformation, unit economics, estate operations, and bottom-line P&L accountability. More importantly, I'm skilled at getting change done through people and taking them with us.
Having led turnarounds, brand overhauls, repositions, rapid brand rollouts, and large-scale operational programmes, I know exactly where corporate momentum dies: internal politics, committee bloat, and strategies dreamt up in a boardroom bubble away from real customer habits.
When it comes to AI, I look at the real-world reality rather than the hype. I work alongside your existing teams to spot where AI actually makes sense for your business today. Sometimes that means major, game-changing efficiencies; other times it's subtle tweaks to cut out administrative grind and help your people move faster. No rip-and-replace, no tech for tech's sake: just practical tools pointed squarely at your commercial priorities that can work for today.
Future Factory LDN was created as an antidote to conventional consultancy. I partner directly as a peer to founders, CEOs, and executive boards to facilitate the uncomfortable conversations, break inertia, and turn strategic intent into tangible commercial delivery.
Crucially, real execution only works when your people come with you. Beyond shaping the plan and driving pace, I make sure frontline teams across the business connect with the vision, understand their role in it, and have the clarity and confidence to make it stick on the ground.
Ready to get moving?
