Mr O'Shannassy joined BlackRock following the merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) in 2006. At MLIM, he was the Chief Investment Officer for MLIM Australia. Mr O'Shannassy joined MLIM in 1985 and held several positions including Managing Director for the MLIM Asia team. Additionally, when he moved to London in 1990 he held a key role in helping to establishing the Emerging Markets team. Mr O'Shannassy joined MLIM through its acquisition of Mercury Asset Management in 1997. He began his career as an Economic Advisor for the Australian Commonwealth Treasury. Mr O'Shannassy earned a Batchelor of Science (B.Sc,) and a Masters in Economics (M.Ec) from Monash University in 1980.