Chief Brand Development Officer
Tosin Kasali is Chief Brand Development Officer at H. J. Russell & Company, the Atlanta-based construction, program management, and real estate development firm that has spent seventy years building the places where cities gather. He leads brand positioning, thought leadership, and pursuit strategy across the company’s national offices, with a particular focus on aviation.
Founded in 1952 by Herman J. Russell, the company helped build Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Russell has extensive experience in the US aviation market, both as program manager and construction manager at risk. We are currently actively involved in programs at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport (Atlanta), DFW and Love Field in Dallas, Seattle-Tacoma airport, and Bush Intercontinental airport (Houston).
Kasali came to that mandate from inside the terminal. For two decades, he built his career on the commercial side of aviation, supporting executive leadership, airport funding and operations, concessionaires, and the 24/7 flow of passengers through the terminal.
He spent nearly a decade at HMSHost by Avolta, the global airport restaurant operator, advancing from Director of Business Development Finance to Vice President of Business Development. He won competitive concession awards and secured lease extensions at airports across the country, leading teams spanning culinary, design, construction, and finance. Earlier, at gategroup, he launched new business lines across North America.
Kasali serves as an At-Large Director on the Airport Minority Advisory Council Board of Directors. As chair of AMAC’s Membership Committee from 2021 to 2025, he oversaw annual membership growth exceeding 30 percent. Airport Business Magazine named him to its 2023 Top 40 Under 40.
He holds an MBA in Finance from George Washington University and a BBA in Information Systems from Old Dominion University.
At CI, we believe being responsible business citizens means being responsible to the environment we share with the rest of the world, including our employees, partners and traveling passengers. Here are a few sustainability elements we focus on when opening or renovating a concept
Not only to save money, but to preserve this precious resource, through water efficient fixtures and fittings, pre-rinse valves, ice makers and dishwashers.
Incorporate systems to reduce, reuse, recycling waste to energy.
Reduce energy demand through processes related to energy usage and efficiency. Encourage efficient practices without sacrificing quality of service to our customers through lighting by using low energy heat lighting, HVAC by using variable speed kitchen fans for exhaust, decreased process load requirements through ENERGY STAR kitchen equipment, computers and POS systems.
Build with materials that are safe for our employees and guests and have recycled content of at least 10-20%, thereby reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of virgin materials.
Purchase building materials and products that are extracted and manufactured within the region in which we build, thereby supporting the use of indigenous resources and reducing the environmental impacts resulting from transportation.
CI was awarded the GreeningATL “Footprint and Community Impact Award” for being a leader in cutting down on emissions in the local Atlanta area for our operation at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport by subsidizing the purchase of their transit cards, which encourages transit use and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
