You might say Boston native Bob Russo has design running through his veins. The son of a tailor, the Emmy-nominated costume designer and longtime event visionary has been crafting and managing inventive gatherings for more than 35 years.
Russo began working for his father at age 10, honing the craft of clothing and costume design. In those days, he also was captivated by the theatricality of department store windows at Boston staples Filene’s and Jordan Marsh. “We didn’t have Macy’s back then here in Boston,” he recalls. “But [those stores] would do big, extravagant windows. And years later, I was lucky enough to work with a company that designed some windows in those same stores I admired as a kid. It was a nice little full-circle moment.”
Russo eventually brought his creativity and display-making talents into the events world—always dreaming big. In fact, he once brought a 40-foot Ferris wheel onto the second floor of a convention center for a 4,000-person carnival-themed event. “One thing that has been a hallmark of my career is I’m constantly pissing off the logistics guys,” he says. “And I take that as a badge of honor. Because if they think it’s easy and they can do it in their sleep, then it has been done a million times before.” He adds that while getting a
Ferris wheel up an elevator was no easy task, the attendee reaction was 100% worth it.
In 2022, he launched Bob Russo Event Design + Consult, and he began serving on Meeting Professionals International (MPI) New England’s board as director of education this year. His work at MPI includes mentoring the next generation and ensuring events industry associations like MPI remain relevant.
“My fear is that a bunch of youngsters coming out of college and getting into this business will look at MPI and say, ‘It just doesn’t resonate with us—let’s start our own [organization],’” says Russo. “So, one of the things I’m trying to do during my time with MPI’s education committee is figure out how to teach the younger generation the way they want to be taught—not the way this old man wants them to learn. Because you learn better when people are speaking your language, and when the information is presented in a way that’s easily accessible to you and easily absorbed.”
In addition to shaping the future of the field, Russo is still chasing ambitious goals of his own. “I have a client who provides software that helps run the International Space Station,” he says. “Their goal for their 50th anniversary is to host an event in space. And my goal is to be the planner who does it for them.”
