Ruelens (pictured) steps down on 16 October and will be relocating to Canada at which point Finke will take on the role until a permanent successor has been appointed.

Finke joined the firm in 1995 as a business analyst trainee before moving to India in 2005 to establish and lead the company’s new offshore client services unit. At 38 he is SymphonyIRI’s youngest ever managing director and he was most recently corporate strategy director in the UK.

Ruelens, meanwhile, was appointed UK MD in early 2009 replacing Jeremy McNamara in the role. He had previously worked for Cadbury Schweppes as group director and executive vice president of sales. Earlier in his career he held senior sales positions with General Mills, Pillsbury and XL Foods.