His first engagement as Danny Russell Consulting is with an unnamed media group, working in Europe.

Russell said he is looking to keep his options open regarding potential engagements for the time being – they might involve developing marketing strategies and go-to-market strategies, or training and coaching employees. “It would be foolhardy to specialise too soon,” he said.

Research project management, though, won’t be part of the offer. Russell said: “Companies would be able to find other people that might be better placed – and who are cheaper, frankly – to come in and run a research project, although part of my responsibilities might be to manage people who are managing projects.”

Russell began his career in the early 90s as a research manager at Kraft Foods UK, before becoming planning manager at British Airways and then moving to BSkyB in 1998.

His initial role at the satellite broadcaster was as a consumer researcher – the company’s first. Later he was picked to build a marketing strategy team and was most recently responsible for all consumer, media and content research, insight and data.

Russell left Sky in January, coinciding with a restructuring of the company’s sales and marketing teams. He is a former chairman and vice chairman of the clientside research association Aura.