Russell Consulting has strengthened its global consulting division with two key hires for the Asia-Pacific unit.

In Australia, the company hired Frank Russo as senior consultant, while Trevor Persaud has stepped in as practice leader for consulting and advisory services in the ASEAN, India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Russo has over 20 years of financial services experience and moves from Access Capital Advisers, where he served on the board of the AMP Infrastructure Fund of India and as investor representative on several investment advisory committees. Prior to that, he also held senior positions at Equipsuper and Westpac. He begins on his new post in 2 May and will be based in Melbourne.

Persaud will be leading the strategic development and delivery of investment consulting services to Russell's clients in Asia, covering investment advisory, asset allocation, strategic asset tilting, risk management, and portfolio construction. Prior to this appointment, he was with Prudential Asset Management in Singapore, where he headed the investment risk oversight and performance division. At Russell, he will be based in Singapore and report to Mahendran Nathan, the chief executive for ASEAN, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and India.

In addition to the new hires, Russell has also made three senior consulting hires in the region over the last few months, including the appointment of Jiro Shimpo as director of alternative investment consulting for Japan and Northeast Asia.