"Talking to Dorothy always leaves me clearer about what my options are and what I should do"
About Essential Futures
Essential Futures is a Toronto-based firm that provides business management expertise to the design industry – Architecture, Interior Design, Engineering, and Landscape Architecture – through consulting, research, and education. By specialising, we learn about the issues and challenges of greatest concern to firms in the industry, particularly of smaller firms. Focus areas include
- business management fundamentals
- business vision, direction, strategy, and positioning
- business structure, organization roles, and business processes
- ownership and management succession
About the Principal - Dorothy Russel
Dorothy Russel is the founder and Principal of Essential Futures. A business consultant for more than 20 years, Dorothy works with leaders of Interior Design, Architecture, Engineering, and Landscape Architecture firms on management, motivation, and business succession. She is a regular speaker at industry events and has been interviewed about management issues for several industry publications. In addition to her consulting activities, Dorothy has conducted in-depth research on the issue of Ownership and Management Succession in the Design Industry. Results of her research have been included in Interior Design in Practice: Case Studies of Successful Business Models recently published by Wiley. Dorothy holds an MBA from the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, and a Certificate in Interior Design from Ryerson University.