SThree chief executive Russell Clements (left) will retire earlier than planned on 1 January 2013, the company has announced.

It was announced in May that Clements, who has been with the professional recruitment group for two and a half decades, would retire at the conclusion of the firm’s next AGM in April, to be succeeded in his role by chief strategy officer Gary Elden.

Elden has been with the company for over 22 years, joining the board in 2008, and took on the role of deputy CEO immediately upon the May announcement.

Clements may be retiring, but will remain involved in the recruitment industry. In a video interview with Recruiter published online yesterday, he talked about his new role as non-executive chairman of visual analytics start-up cube19, which he made a major investment in earlier this month.