Russell Investments has hired Sandra Cavanaugh as the new managing director of private client services. She will start at Russell on January 4 and report to president and CEO Andrew Doman.

Cavanaugh will take over from Greg Stark, who will go on a sabbatical on February 1. Stark is pursuing an executive education program and is expected to return to Russell following the program's end, when he will assume a new, unspecified role at the company.

A company spokesperson said the length of Stark's sabbatical is unspecified and will depend on his successful enrollment in a particular program.

Russell Investments marks the latest stop for Cavanaugh who most recently worked for SunTrust as the firm's executive vice president of the retail channel. Prior to SunTrust, she spent several years at Washington Mutual, serving as senior vice president, national sales-retail distribution, and heading up the firm's broker/dealer and mutual fund distribution company, WM Financial Services and WM Funds Distributor & Shareholder Services from 1997 until 2007.

Cavanaugh's resume also includes a stint at Invesco's mutual fund and investment management arm – AIM Distributor, Inc. – as senior vice president, regional sales director.

---

Company Press Release

TACOMA, Wash. - (Business Wire) Russell Investments has announced the appointment of Sandra Cavanaugh as managing director, Private Client Services, Russell’s business serving financial intermediaries in North America. Cavanaugh, who will join Russell in January, will report to president and CEO Andrew Doman and will also become a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

“We are thrilled that a seasoned professional of Sandy’s standing will join us at this exciting time in our company’s history. Russell’s value proposition for advisors and individual investors has never been more relevant than now, and Sandy has the market knowledge, operational track-record and leadership capabilities that will catapult us forward,” said Doman.

Cavanaugh will succeed Greg Stark who is taking his planned sabbatical (offered to all Russell employees after each 10 years of service) beginning February 1 after which he will extend his period of leave in order to pursue a personal goal of completing an executive education program. He is expected to return to Russell in a new role at the completion of his studies.

*About Sandra Cavanaugh*

Cavanaugh joins Russell from SunTrust, where she was the firm’s executive vice president, Retail Channel.

Prior to this, she was senior vice president, National Sales-Retail Distribution, JP Morgan Chase (formerly Washington Mutual). In this role, she spent two years with responsibility for the sales structure, go-to-market strategy and service culture of the 2,000-branch retail network, which included 22,000 employees and $120 billion in assets. In this role, Cavanaugh successfully helped transition WaMu’s sales culture from a transactional model to a consultative approach and launched its Mass Affluent Client Initiative.

From 1997 - 2007, Cavanaugh was president of Washington Mutual’s broker/dealer and mutual fund distribution company, WM Financial Services and WM Funds Distributor & Shareholder Services. During her tenure at WaMu, she was responsible for the ground-up development of a multi-channel mutual fund marketing and distribution organization, growing assets under management from $5 billion to $24 billion in six years and developing a robust effort delivering asset allocation programs to independent advisors throughout the US. Subsequently, she was asked to take on the role of president of WM Financial Services, WaMu’s broker dealer where she managed a 1,000 strong sales force and a back office of 1,000 employees.

Cavanaugh has also served as senior vice president, regional sales director, AIM Distributor, Inc., the mutual fund and investment management subsidiary of Invesco. Here, she was one of two national market leaders responsible for developing new business relationships and promoting a diverse product portfolio to financial institutions.

“Throughout my career, I have had ample occasions to admire Russell and its excellent reputation both through direct interaction with colleagues and via participation in industry engagements. I am very excited to now have the opportunity to join the leadership team and to play a demonstrable role in driving the firm’s growth and success going forward,” said Cavanaugh.

*About Russell*

Russell Investments is a global investment company with $174 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2009. Russell serves individual, institutional and advisor clients in more than 40 countries and provides investment solutions including mutual funds, retirement investments, institutional asset management, implementation services and global stock market indexes. Russell is world-renowned for its depth of manager research, quality of manager selection and access to some of the world's leading investment managers. It helps investors of all sizes put this access to work in corporate defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and in the life savings of individual investors.

Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Headquartered in Tacoma, Russell operates principal offices in Amsterdam, Auckland, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.

Russell Investment Group, a Washington USA corporation, operates through subsidiaries worldwide, including Russell Investments.

The Russell logo is a trademark and service mark of Russell Investments.

 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE