Shashank Kothare. Mentor

Area(s) of expertise

• Marketing and Communications (3 years);
• General Investment (5 years);
• previously working in pensions consultancy (6 years) - not really an expert now.

Current work

• I am currently in charge of Russell's internal and external communications for Europe, Middle East and Africa. My team is involved in many different types writing collateral e.g., fund change communication, brochures and research, and responsible for over 40 Russell websites.

Other comments

• Previously at Russell I provided general investment consultancy for a variety of large investment funds in Australia and London (pension funds, foundations, government organisations, insurance companies), providing advice on all aspects of the investment process, from governance and objective setting to implementation and performance evaluation. When I first joined Russell I specialised in asset liability modelling work
• I used to work in pensions consultancy for 6 years prior to moving to investment. The experience helped tremendously in my work using asset liability models;
• the actuarial qualification helps to gain respect and confidence from clients and other colleagues;
• moving to investments, and more recently to a marketing role, was not as difficult as I initially thought. My obvious lack of investment experience did not hinder my progress; I just had to work hard to get up to speed. However, given the changing world of investment, this was not difficult as others are learning all the time, too.