Empresaria chief executive Miles Hunt is stepping down at the end of the year from the post he has held for 15 years.

Succeeding Hunt at the helm will be Joost Kreulen, who has been with Empresaria since 2008, initially responsible for its Asian operations and more recently also for a number of Empresaria’s UK-based businesses. Kreulen has now been appointed as the group’s chief operating officer with immediate effect.

Before joining Empresaria Kreulen was head of specialist staffing operations for Vedior in the Netherlands, as well as being responsible for business development within Northern Europe and Germany. Kreulen is one of a number of former Vedior executives who have moved to Empresaria.

When asked why he had decided to leave, Hunt told Recruiter: “With the focus likely to be operations-focused over the next year or two — and with some excellent operational managers within the group — I could see myself being under-employed. I am not one to sit on my hands and therefore have decided to hand over to Joost. He is Mr Operations!”

Asked to point out milestones of his tenure, Hunt mentioned the company’s international expansion out of the UK, which began in Japan in 2004.

And when asked about his next move, Hunt told Recruiter: “What the next chapter is going to be, I don’t yet know.”

He will remain on Empresaria’s board until the end of next March.