InterQuest has no immediate plans to hire a new chief executive, according to Gary Ashworth, who today takes the role of the group’s executive chairman.

This morning InterQuest revealed in a statement that Ashworth, previously chairman of the specialist digital and analytics staffing specialist, would be assuming the role of executive chairman.

In July, Mark Braund announced his decision to step down as CEO at the firm, with Ashworth telling Recruiter at the time a new set of skills would be required from InterQuest’s new CEO.

But Ashworth told Recruiter this morning his new role is “pretty permanent”. 

“I’m not ruling out the possibility of hiring a CEO, but at the moment there aren’t plans to do that, and I’m keen to continue the job I started 14 years ago and continue to grow the business.

“Mark won’t be replaced in the short term. If at some point in the future we find someone that has got some skills that the management team don’t have, perhaps international skills if that’s our aspiration, then I wouldn’t rule it out but for now I’m very excited about stepping back in as executive chairman.”

This morning’s announcement also saw Michael Joyce tender his resignation as the group’s chief financial officer.

According to Ashworth both Joyce and Braund took the lead on investigating the potential sale of the company last October. 

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