DIRECTOR

Russell Howcroft was appointed to the Melbourne International Arts Festival Board in November 2005.

Russel is chairman and managing director of George Patterson Y&R Melbourne.

Previously CEO of The Furnace, the Havas-owed agency he co-founded as Leonardi Brandhouse in 1995, Howcroft has also worked for McCann Erickson and Lowe Howard-Spink in London and did a previous stint at George Patterson. He has worked on key global brands, including Diners, Levis, Cadbury Schweppes and Shell.

As the current Chairman of the Advertising Federation of Australia, Howcroft has addressed a number of major industry issues, from self-regulation to agency remuneration; helped build a strong relationship with the AANA (Australian Association of National Advertisers), and launched the world’s first agency accreditation programme. He is a founding Member of Media Team, an organisation that assists not-for-profits with their media and marketing endeavours and a founder of the Carbon Trading business, EMIT.