Download Report

Profile of Bickey Russell
Scholastica Alumnus
Bickey Russell completed his A’ Levels from Scholastica in 2001. He currently lives in California
and is the Divisional Head of Google’s ads business organization.
School Life and Academic Career
“Scholastica represents one of the most cherished periods of
my life. I have to thank all the school’s faculty and support staff
for putting up with me throughout my 7 years at the school!”
Bickey is very close to his school friends as he believes that the
friends one makes while in school are very important and
which he values the most. About his school days he says, “I learnt so much from all the teachers
and for someone like me, who was never very academically-inclined, I was also able to take part
in a lot of sports. I will never forget representing the school at Cricket, Volleyball, Basketball and
Football. Everything that happened as part of those sports teams, and the camaraderie I
developed with my teammates, helped me grow so much as individual. Imran Sir, Lity Miss, Arif
Sir and Lulu Sir (to name a few) were such a big part of my life for so many years and I owe them
a lot.”
Bickey completed his A Levels from Scholastica in 2001
and went on to do a BA in Geography and Development
Studies at King’s College London. In his words: “Though
Geography was an uncommon choice for a degree at the
time I graduated, I was always fascinated by how the
human and physical worlds relate to one another. I loved
Geography when I studied it for my O level exams. I have
to thank Mrs. Sharifa Sultana, who taught us Geography at Scholastica, for inspiring me to
pursue it at university.”
Throughout University Bickey did a number of part time jobs, from working in a department
store to selling t-shirts at a stall in London’s Camden Market. His first ‘real’ job was at Millward
Brown, which is a leading market research and brand consulting company, part of the WPP plc
Group. As a graduate trainee he learnt a lot of the basics of how advertising and media works.
After two years at Millward Brown, Bickey moved to EDS (Electronic Data System) which was
later acquired by HP for a more “serious” job where he had to wear a suit and tie every day to
work! He worked as a Business Analyst in the BPO Corporate Development team and learned a
great deal about doing business and how companies operate from very senior executives, and
was exposed to major deals.
In 2008, he started at Google as a Strategy specialist in the EMEA Sales team and eventually
moved to the Headquarters in Mountain View, California in 2011, where he was initially a
Strategic Partnerships Manager and worked with Yellow Page and Web Hosting companies,
before he took on the leadership role as Divisional Head.
Current News
At present Bickey is heading up a division of Google’s ads business organization focusing on US
agency development.. His team, comprising of business development managers and account
managers, partner with independent, performance marketing agencies to help their clients (the
end-advertisers) to make the most of Google’s suite of advertising solutions.
His day to day job can be divided in three broad areas:
 People: Bickey spends a lot of time supporting his team, coaching them and helping
them develop their skills to do their job and progress in their career.
 Leadership: This area involves being responsible for building out the team’s strategy and
driving the execution of it. A key part of this is communication - whether it’s leading
regular team meetings or as part of cross-functional collaboration.
 Industry: A very important part of his role is speaking to clients, learning and partnering
with them. Whether it’s through client-specific meetings or industry events, Bickey
focus a lot of his efforts in this area.
Inspiration and Future Plans
Bickey is really passionate about technology and its application for consumers and businesses.
In his words, “I am tremendously fortunate to be at company where I am able to exercise my
interests on a day-to-day basis and learn so much.” He is also keen on all kinds of
entrepreneurship and is working with his wife, Ivy Huq Russell, on her startup ‘maya.com.bd’,
which is building an app that has the potential to help millions of women in Bangladesh through
peer-to-peer knowledge exchange.
At the Roundtable session with ICT
Minister earlier this year in Dhaka
Bickey spends a lot of his spare time pursuing his interest in
helping grow the internet ecosystem in Bangladesh. Whether
it’s through Google, advising startups or getting involved in
the local tech community – he really values contributing in
these areas. In his words, “I am learning a lot from working
with leaders and peers back home, and get a lot of personal
satisfaction from helping make things happen in
Bangladesh.”
A family man, Bickey loves to spend his free time with his wife and
six year old daughter! About his interests, he says, “I also love
sports, cricket, basketball and especially football. I’ve supported
Arsenal since I was a child and follow them as much as I can. I
grew up playing a lot of sports at school and in my beloved Dhaka
neighborhood, Old DOHS. I still play when I get the chance,
although I tend to get injured way more often than I should - I’m
currently recovering from torn ligaments in my left ankle!”
Playing football in Old DOHS while
on University Summer vacation
Advice for Scholastica Students and Parents
To the students of Scholastica, Bickey Russell advises, “In this digital age, I would recommend
taking advantage of being able to access the world at your fingertips. Use this as the
opportunity to expand your horizons and be a global player. Always look to learn and develop.”
As a father of a daughter who has just started going to school, Bickey seeks a lot of advice
himself. For the parents of Scholastica, he would like to suggest the following - “Try and expose
your children to as much as possible. I grew up fortunate enough to see and experiences many
different cultures. I really appreciate my mother (and other family members and friends) taking
the extra effort to introduce me to things like rickshaw art, Jazz music, Kurasawa films and so
on, at a very early stage.”