About
Russell Raath
Founder, The Ambition Company
Russell Raath is the founder of The Ambition Company, where he helps leaders, teams, and consultants turn their biggest ambitions into measurable progress.
What I do now
I spend all of my time on one thing: helping people close the gap between the ambition they hold and the progress they actually make. Through The Ambition Playbook I run team summits that help bold leaders and their teams build conviction and move at speed. Through The Ambitious Advisor I help solo consultants grow their impact and build a business they love. Both draw on The Science of Ambition, the research and framework beneath the work.
Before this
My work has taken me around the world, across consulting, banking, and leadership. I was President of Kotter International (2011-2021), the firm founded on John Kotter's research into leading change. Before that I was a Senior Vice President at Bank of America (2010-2011), and I spent more than a decade at Deloitte Consulting, most recently as a Senior Manager (1998-2010). Now I run my own business.
- President Kotter International 2011-2021
- Senior Vice President Bank of America 2010-2011
- Senior Manager Deloitte Consulting 1998-2010
Education
I hold a B Com (Law) from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa, and I have completed executive certificate programs at Columbia Business School and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).
Where I'm based
I'm based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I'm a dual citizen of the United States and South Africa.
Two crossings of the cold Atlantic
Open water is where I test what I preach. In May 2023 I completed my first solo crossing from Robben Island to Blouberg: 7.4 km across the cold Atlantic off Cape Town, in skins (no wetsuit). In April 2026 I went back and became the first person ever to swim the crossing entirely backstroke, unassisted. Both are the clearest proof I know that ambition is personal, and that it's contagious.
First backstroke crossing
- Route
- Robben Island to Blouberg (7.4 km)
- Stroke
- Backstroke
- Category
- Skins, unassisted
- Time
- 04:03:30
- Water
- 13.5 °C
- Date
First solo crossing
- Route
- Robben Island to Blouberg (7.4 km)
- Stroke
- Freestyle
- Category
- Skins
- Time
- 03:53:04
- Date
Both ratified by the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association, the official record keepers of the crossing.
Find me elsewhere
Common questions
Who is Russell Raath?
Russell Raath is the founder of The Ambition Company, where he helps leaders, teams, and consultants turn ambition into measurable progress. He was previously President of Kotter International, a Senior Vice President at Bank of America, and a Senior Manager at Deloitte Consulting.
What is The Ambition Company?
The Ambition Company (legal name The Ambition Company LLC) is Russell Raath’s leadership and team-performance consultancy, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It works with leaders and their teams through The Ambition Playbook, and with solo consultants through The Ambitious Advisor.
What is The Science of Ambition?
The Science of Ambition is the research and framework, developed by Russell Raath, that explains how bold teams build conviction and turn it into measurable progress.
What is The Ambition Model?
The Ambition Model is Russell Raath’s framework for turning ambition into measurable progress: how individuals and teams build the conviction to commit and the discipline to act on it.
What is Russell Raath known for outside of business?
In April 2026 Russell Raath became the first person to swim the Robben Island to Blouberg crossing (7.4 km) entirely backstroke, unassisted and in skins, a record ratified by the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association.