JANA hires as Russell loses staff

Asset consultant JANA Investment Advisers has appointed two former analysts from Russell Investment Group to boost its implemented consulting products, while globally, Russell digests top-level resignations.

Former Russell analyst Georgina Dudley has joined JANA’s hedge fund replication product TriplePoint. Based in Sydney, Dudley has increased JANA’s TriplePoint team to three, headed by Michael O’Dea. She resigned in May from the consulting arm of Russell’s Investment Management and Research Group where, it is understood, she concentrated on Asian, Japanese, and Australian equities research. Neil Stanford, whose contract was not renewed in March after Russell restructured the private markets team including removing the head, Andrew Goddard, has moved to the Melbourne office of JANA’s direct investment unit. His hire brought the team headed by Robert Day to four people. JANA executive director John Coombe said the two unrelated hires were made to “bolster the [respective] teams” and would be “a bit of a change of focus” for Dudley and Stanford. Both analysts have moved from the advice side in Russell to implemented consulting in JANA. JANA has also advertised for a Sydney-based senior consultant to further build its 50-person consultant team. Meanwhile Russell’s global head of alternative investments, Jon Bailie, has resigned. I&T news understands London-based Bailie was considered a possible successor to the US-based global chief executive, Craig Ueland, who resigned last month. No official comment on Bailie’s departure was available at presstime. Ueland, a 25-year Russell-veteran, resigned June 9. Russell director John Schlifske has replaced him on an interim basis until a new CEO is found. Schlifske is also executive vice president at Russell’s parent company, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance.