Newly created role formalizes Russell’s leadership in applied AI, commercial excellence, and proprietary frameworks driving Cortado’s AI-powered GTM practice.
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, March 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Cortado Group, a leading go-to-market (GTM) consulting firm, today announced the promotion of David Russell to the role of Distinguished Innovation Fellow, a newly created role that signals more than a promotion. It represents a strategic shift in how Cortado Group positions itself: from a pure growth advisory firm to one that also defines how modern revenue organizations execute on AI (Artificial Intelligence) adoption, operational maturity, and sustainable competitive advantage.
In this role, Russell sits at the intersection of strategic insight, applied AI, and commercial excellence. He serves as architect of Cortado’s proprietary AI frameworks and is the primary force behind converting that intellectual capital into scalable products and tools. The fellowship formalizes a new dimension of Cortado’s offering: one that goes beyond embedded consulting to shape how the market thinks, teaches, and acts on the AI opportunity.
“David has built something genuinely rare: a body of work that is rigorous enough to be foundational and practical enough to change day-to-day behavior,” said Dan Bernoske, CEO of Cortado Group. “This fellowship recognizes that leadership and reinforces our commitment to giving clients usable frameworks and tools as they apply AI to go-to-market execution.”
Russell’s promotion comes on the heels of a prolific body of work that includes the development of Cortado’s Five Levels of AI Maturity Framework, a multi-dimensional diagnostic model separating organizational readiness from AI technology sophistication; a workforce transformation taxonomy; and a fully reimagined AI Readiness Workbook designed as the companion resource to his forthcoming book about AI-Powered Growth. His work has been instrumental in shaping how mid-market and enterprise companies approach AI-driven revenue operations.
Russell brings more than 45 years of software development and engineering leadership across startups, high-growth companies, and the education sector. His background includes applied machine learning (ML) and AI systems in real-world production environments, from early ML use cases through current work with large language model deployments supporting Cortado Group’s Knowledge Integration Platform.
Russell also contributes to Cortado Group’s product development efforts. Under the fellowship, the firm has advanced multiple proprietary technology initiatives, including a Knowledge Integration Platform, a Portfolio Insights Platform, and an Agent Suite designed for AI-driven go-to-market execution. A patent application is pending for Cortado Group’s FIRE research study analysis engine.
“Frameworks only matter if they get used,” said Russell. “My job is to close the gap between what’s possible and what teams actually do, so AI becomes operational, measurable, and repeatable.”
About Cortado Group
Cortado Group is a growth execution and go-to-market (GTM) consulting firm that helps companies, both enterprise and private-equity-backed, accelerate revenue growth and increase enterprise value. Cortado Group builds the operational infrastructure, strategic frameworks, and AI-enabled capabilities needed to compete and win. Through embedded consulting, proprietary tools, and scalable education products, Cortado Group bridges the gap between organizational ambition and commercial execution.
Alexander Kerlek
Cortado Group
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