About Us
First Add Water is a strategic advisory and data-driven insights firm offering leadership guidance in direction, operational management, and communications campaigns for clients ranging from start ups and entrepreneurs to established entities.
Based in New York and Berlin, our principals are Robin Rusch and Scott Elder
Robin Rusch, Founding Principal
Robin combines a lifelong interest in how people and organizations can work effectively to be successful, internally and externally, with her experience over a wide variety of industries and jobs. Briefly:
As a Director in advisory at PwC, she helped clients, such as Apple, Citi, H&R Block, and PepsiCo, unlock innovation, align stakeholders, drive decision making, and solve challenges using design thinking and an agile approach (2022-2024).
She was global Chief Executive Officer at Infrared Experience Marketing (under Hakuhodo DY Holdings’ investment arm kyu). Sponsorship activations included Japan Rugby World Cup on behalf of AIG; FIFA Women’s World Cup for Visa; the ASCAP Music Awards; and the American Heart Association’s CPR Tour (2016- 2020).
Robin served as global Chief Executive Officer of BrandWizard (under Omnicom Group), producing brand asset management and technology solutions for heavily-matrixed, multi-regional organizations such as Mercedes, HBO, American Cancer Society, HSBC, Fila, SAP and Hyatt (2005-2013).
She was founding editor of The Mighty Pluck, an independent publication offering solutions to problems big and small (2021-2026).
She was managing and founding editor of brandchannel.com, an online magazine for an international audience interested in design and branding, published by brand consultancy Interbrand (2000-2005).
As an early pioneer of web publishing and social media, she won a Webby for brandchannel in 2003.
Scott Elder, Principal
Prior to joining First Add Water as a principal focused on strategic advice and insights, Scott served in senior positions at leading advisory firms, Penta Group, Global Strategy Group, PSB Insights, and BCW Global.
Over the course of two decades, Scott has provided research-informed advice to U.S. and international clients, across all major industries and for organizations with diverse needs. Clients include Fortune 50 companies, government agencies, political leaders, and non-profit and advocacy organizations.
Scott has led over a thousand research engagements to help clients understand customers, develop new products and communicate more effectively. He mixes a mastery of research approaches with an understanding of client challenges and constituent audience sentiment to provide the insights that make a difference at critical points in a client’s journey.
