Bharti AXA Life Insurance appoints Rahul Bhuskute as Chief Investment Officer

Mumbai: Bharti AXA Life Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s leading business groups, and AXA, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, today announced the appointment of Rahul Bhuskute as Chief Investment Officer effective 1st June, 2021.

Rahul Bhuskute is a tenured investment professional with over decades of experience in creating and scaling up significant investment portfolios in Asia and Europe. Prior to joining Bharti AXA Life, he had a long stint with the ICICI Group in London and Mumbai leading significant verticals in Asset Management and Corporate & Investment Banking. His work experience spans investments in bonds, loans, convertibles, equity-linked instruments and credit derivatives in investment-grade, growth capital, special situations and distressed debt. In his last stint, he led the creation of a private equity platform focused on investing in distressed assets and special situations at ART Special Situations.

An MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Rahul also successfully completed all three levels of the CFA course by the CFA Institute, USA. Earlier, he studied engineering at VNIT, Nagpur.

In his role at Bharti AXA Life, Rahul will be a part of its leadership team and lead the Investments function overseeing AUM of INR 9,400 CR across debt, equity and alternative investments portfolios, managed in the interests of policyholders and shareholders. The firm has significant plans of scaling up its business and the Investment team will continue to play a critical part in strengthening its balance sheet further for growth and generating returns for its policyholders.

Speaking on Rahul’s appointment, Parag Raja, MD & CEO, Bharti AXA Life, said, “We are delighted to have Rahul on board as he brings the perfect blend of professional expertise and business acumen. His extensive experience in scaling up profit and size-critical businesses will be a great asset to us. We have ambitious plans for the company and we are sure that Rahul will play a critical role in supporting us to meet our objectives.”

“I am truly excited to join Bharti AXA Life Insurance at this critical juncture. The Indian life insurance industry has a significant growth runway ahead of it, and Bharti AXA Life is determined to be a part of this growth story. I look forward to working with the wider Bharti AXA Life family to contribute to the company’s success and leading the Investment team in meeting key organizational objectives towards all its stakeholders.” said Rahul Bhuskute, CIO, Bharti AXA Life.