Peter Russian

Peter Russian is a leadership consultant, facilitator, and CEO whose career centers on transforming organizational approaches to leadership and empowerment. Russian serves as CEO of Intent-Based Leadership International, established in partnership with L. David Marquet, author of "Turn the Ship Around" and former submarine captain. The organization promotes the concept that effective leaders distribute decision-making authority, fostering leader-leader cultures throughout organizations.

Russian spent 25 years in the United Kingdom, where he contributed to the development and assessment of leadership and management standards. He served for 15 years as Chief Executive of Investors in People Scotland. During his tenure, Russian worked with more than 25,000 organizations, a reach unmatched by other business consultancy organizations. Through this experience, he identified a recurring pattern: organizations often invested in leadership development, but results frequently did not meet expectations. This observation led him to pursue a different model of leadership.

Through his work, Russian recognized how Intent-Based Leadership challenges traditional leadership assumptions and practices. He joined Marquet to help organizations realize the benefits of this approach. Russian has held executive roles at Intent-Based Leadership International, Remarkable, and Investors in People, with expertise in client and partner relationships, consultancy and research, training and development, and the establishment of global delivery partners. His client portfolio includes National Grid, NASA, Hewlett Packard, Tyson Foods, EDF Energy, Mars, and an F1 racing team.

Russian has experience in non-executive roles in Scotland and England, leading organizational change at Social Investment Scotland and the Centre for Enterprise. He has served on panels and committees such as the UK Council for Leadership and Management, the UK National Training Awards, CBI Scotland Council, Devonshire House Scotland (as chair), and the Scottish Football Association Club Academy Scotland Assessment Panel. Russian co-led a development program in Northern Kenya to support leadership and management in local communities in Laikipia. As Director of Development at Investors in People UK, he led international partnerships, including collaborations with governments in South Africa, Oman, and the Cayman Islands.

Russian received the HR Network Award for Outstanding Contribution to HR in Scotland and was a finalist for the Sir Alex Ferguson Award for Leadership. He is a frequent speaker and facilitator, having presented and worked across the United Kingdom, United States, China, Switzerland, Kenya, France, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and other countries. Russian is recognized for bridging leadership theory with practical organizational transformation, drawing on extensive experience with complex institutions and contributing to ongoing conversations about the future of work and leadership development.