Russell is General Counsel for Costa Coffee Ltd and has been a commercial solicitor for over 30 years having qualified with Slaughter and May. Russell helped Costa in the initial stages of setting up The Costa Foundation in 2007 and was a founding Trustee when the Foundation became an independent charity in 2012. Russell believes that education is a vital element in relieving poverty in the developing world. He chairs the Costa Foundation’s Main Board which is responsible for the governance, strategic and financial aspects of the charity. He also chairs the Foundation’s Project’s Committee which decides which school projects the Foundation will fund, which implementation partners the Foundation works with and reviews the success of projects once they are finished.