Stephen Gazard, group managing director of Quilter’s advice business, is to become chief executive of Quilter Financial Planning, replacing Andy Thompson who will leave later this month.

Mr Gazard joined Quilter Financial Planning in 2017 as group managing director and has 23 years experience in financial services.

He was managing director at Sesame Bankhall Group for a number of years and was involved in the restructuring of the business.

He said: “It is an honour to be asked to lead Quilter Financial Planning through its next phase. We have huge potential to make trusted financial advice more accessible to ensure the best possible outcomes for customers.”

Mr Thompson joined Quilter as part of its acquisition of Intrinsic, having sold his Blueprint businesses to them. He became CEO and joined the Quilter executive committee in 2016.

Quilter said that under his leadership Quilter Financial Planning has grown to become a “leading player” in the advice sector.

The company says the next phase of Quilter Financial Planning’s strategy will be to focus on integrating the business with the rest of the Quilter group.

Paul Feeney, Quilter plc chief executive, said: “Delivering trusted financial advice is central to everything we do and I want to thank Andy for the role he has played in building our advice business. As we move into the next phase of our journey I’m delighted that we have such an able successor in Stephen Gazard to take over the reins.”

Mr Thompson said: “I am incredibly proud of what we have created together as we have focused on serving customers and supporting advisers as a core part of the Quilter Group. Stephen Gazard is a proven leader in advice and will guide the business forward to its next more integrated phase. I would like to thank our advisers, colleagues and board for all of their support throughout this incredible journey.”