Russell Gifford retired as president of CNG Energy Services. He joined CNG in 1962 as a management trainee at the East Ohio Gas Company, becoming president of East Ohio Gas in 1989, then moved to CNG Energy Services as president in 1994. Gifford served as chair of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and North Coast Harbor Inc. He was a trustee of Cleveland Tomorrow, Greater Cleveland Roundtable and University Hospitals, and served on the boards of the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the American Red Cross, Baldwin Wallace College, Urban League of Greater Cleveland, Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland and PlayhouseSquare Foundation, and on the advisory board of the Salvation Army. Gifford is a life trustee of Youth Opportunities Unlimited. He holds a B.S. in math from Heidelberg College and a B.S. in civil engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.