Personal Profiles

James Kavanagh
Senior Manager, Pensions- Dublin

1 What are your main responsibilities
To provide specialist advice to High Net Worth individuals, Corporates (state as well as private) and Trustees (individuals as well as Boards) on a range of pension and investment related queries.

2 What is the most interesting thing about your job?
Helping people manage, achieve and excel their expectation of their pension issue.

3 What most prepared you for your current role?
Experience, for which I believe there is no substitute.

4 What is the current most interesting thing happening in your field?
Pensions coverage and how this is to be achieved.

5 What was your best subject in school?
English

6 What's your favourite saying/quotation?
Cease the Day! (Carpe Diem)

7 How long go you spend commuting each day?
1.5 hours.

8 Favourite form of relaxation?
Squash.

9 What is the best book you have ever read?
The Prince by Machiavelli

10 What's your favourite film?
Guess whose coming to Dinner

11 What's your favourite sporting moment?
Watching a female athlete in the Special World Olympics 2003 (in UCD Dublin), stop to help another girl from the ground who tripped on the running track on her way to finish to claim a gold medal.

12 What is your pet hate?
Lack of attention to detail.

13 What's your ideal holiday?
Adventure Type involving discovery.

14 If you could go back in time, what year would you go back to and why?
1492 – to be on the discovery voyage with Christopher Columbus.

15 If you could meet anyone in the world from any era who would it be? And why? Steve Biko as I believe he demonstrated courage and passion for his fellow man.

16 What has been your proudest moment?
My graduation in 1989 from UCD.

17 If you were not in your current job - what other job would you be in?
Pensions & Investments.

18 What would you like your legacy to be?
To have made a respected contribution to the pension industry.