John Simmonds has stepped down from his role as chairman of Bluefin Corporate Consulting and Bluefin Wealth Management to pursue other interests.

Mr Simmonds joined the firm in August 2007 as the chief executive of Thinc Group, taking over from Simon Chamberlain, before the firm was rebranded as Bluefin in January 2009 after being bought by AXA.

He then worked as chief executive of Bluefin until March 2011 when he was replaced by current chief executive Nick Burns and has since worked as chairman of the Bluefin Corporate Consulting and Bluefin Wealth Management team.

Mr Simmonds said: “Bluefin Advisory Services now offers clients a multi-award winning, very successful corporate consulting practice supported by highly qualified, professional personal consulting practice to advise private clients.

“It is well-positioned to cope with the RDR and everything is in place for the business to grow and flourish. It feels like the right moment for me to move on and consider new challenges.”

Nick Burns, chief executive of BAS, said: “We’re grateful to John for his dedication and hard work. We wish him the very best for the future.”

A replacement for Mr Simmonds has not yet been announced by the firm.