For Ridgefield, Connecticut native Russell Schuster, one of life’s great joys is helping others. Whether that assistance takes the form of 25 successful years of C-level executive leadership or volunteer efforts and philanthropy, Schuster takes pride in his ability to solve problems and help people in communities around the world. With a leadership style centered on empathy and positive change, Schuster’s career is replete with success and lessons to be learned.
Education and Opportunity
Russell Schuster was blessed with unique opportunities at a young age, and those opportunities informed the global mindset and multicultural interests that have shaped his professional career. In high school, he was able to spend a transformative year studying abroad in Argentina, where his love and appreciation for other cultures really took root.
After graduating from high school, Schuster knew he’d need the knowledge and skills of a higher education. He thusly enrolled at High Point University in North Carolina and, in 1995, earned two undergraduate degrees: a BS in International Business and a BA in Spanish, both with honors. While he would eventually go on to pursue his Masters in Business Administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business (specializing in Finance and Information Systems) in 2001, as well as additional global study at IMD Business School in Switzerland, Schuster’s professional career began soon after achieving his undergraduate degrees.
C-Suite Success
Western Union International would be Russell Schuster’s first corporate home and would also further shape his internationally-minded, multicultural mentality. As one of the company’s Region Operations Managers in Central America and the Caribbean, he witnessed such profound poverty and need that his entire career path changed, shifting toward one of service and aid. When he took on the role of Director of Global Operations and Quality Assurance at Western Union, his expertise and broad perspective allowed him to make decisions with care for local markets and cultural nuances, leading to great success.
It wasn’t until Schuster signed on at KPMG that his star truly began to rise. He quickly ascended from associate to director, taking care to intelligently expand his team and making decisions that boosted the group’s annual revenue to nearly $25 million. That runaway success set the stage for his continued performance across a number of businesses for decades to come.
For example, Schuster joined Aggreko PLC, an industrial energy and HVAC solutions company, in 2008, where he would go on to serve in a number of senior roles including Managing Director and Global Senior VP. In those roles he took charge of a three-year strategic plan meant to reverse the company’s declining revenue. He exceeded expectations, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% in revenue and 51% in profits in less than two years.
The pinnacle of his success, however, was his triumphant tenure as the CEO of United Site Services. When he arrived in 2018, he found a company still laboring under the burden of traditional business practices and processes, including a decades-outdated reliance on paper records and communication. These processes contributed to a worryingly high total recordable incident rate (TRIR) and low customer satisfaction scores.
Russell Schuster recognized the need for a sweeping internal transformation and immediately went to work. By prioritizing the adoption of advanced technology solutions, new detailed team pieces of training, data analytics, and comprehensive safety measures, Schuster aimed to evolve the company’s operation processes. It wasn’t as simple as installing new tech—Schuster knew better than that. The processes no longer benefited the people working at United Site Services, which negatively impacted safety and satisfaction. Listening carefully to the teams and employees beneath him was critical to his leadership and to his plan’s success.
“It is very important to gauge the feel of the team; are we achieving our milestones, are the systems making life easier, do team members generally like to come to work?” says Schuster.
The results speak for themselves: Revenue grew 26%, EBITDA increased by a staggering 65%, the safety initiatives reduced the company’s TRIR from 5.9 to 1, and customer satisfaction scores soared. Clear vision, decisive leadership, and a drive to help people led to definitive success and growth.
Community Care At Home And Abroad
Russell Schuster had learned and seen too much to ignore the problems and people in need outside of the corporate world.
“While living in Florida, my wife and I immersed ourselves in volunteer work,” Schuster says. “We supported many homeless shelters and coached a soccer team of underprivileged boys, experiences that enriched our lives immeasurably.”
An empathetic family man, Schuster moved back to his home of Ridgefield, CT, after getting his MBA to raise three daughters with his wife, but what he’d learned in business and in school stayed with him. He wanted to do more than plant his family’s roots—he wanted to give back to the community and world that raised him. Schuster put his skills and mind toward charity work both at home and abroad, lending his efforts to a number of causes, including—but not limited to—the following:
- Participated in NDSS Buddy Walks
- Served meals at homeless shelters in the wake of Hurricane Harvey
- Participation and donor to the Ridgefield Congregational Church
- Charity work for elderly citizens in Stamford
Foremost in his efforts to give back to the community is his time serving as a board member of the local nonprofit Ridgefield A Better Chance (RABC). The organization exists to give driven and talented underprivileged youth the opportunity to study at Ridgefield’s public high school. They do so by offering educational, social, and cultural enrichment to chosen RABC scholars, with the goal of identifying and preparing leaders from underrepresented populations for success.
“The persistent issues of racism and inequality in our country are particularly troubling to me,” Schuster says. “I briefly joined as a board member and considered it a privilege to help the organization. The greatest gift was learning from the girls and making a positive impact together.”
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Summary of Excellence
Russell Schuster’s devotion to growth and improvement in the world is clearly displayed in both his professional and personal life. Currently Schuster most recently served as CEO at Trilogy MedWaste, a company providing medical waste management to the healthcare community, where his leadership is proving effective at guiding the company through the unique challenges of the healthcare sector.
“Whether it’s coaching a new manager or collaborating with executives on strategic initiatives, I find fulfillment in making a positive difference at all levels of the organization,” he said.
Personally, he’s a devoted father who will brag about the successes of his children to anyone who will listen, and looks forward to expanding his worldview with more international travel in the future.
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