High-profile economist Brad Olsen is stepping down from his role as chief executive at Infometrics, to focus on his principal economist role.Chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan will move into an acting managing director role."I'm wanting to better focus my time on ensuring as many people as possible - Infometrics clients, decision makers and the public at large - are better informed and that economics is put simply," Olsen said,"That remains the mission at Infometrics, and I'm stoked Gareth is stepping into the managing director role to keep the business moving forward. Moving back to the principal economist role means I can best dedicate my time to getting out and interacting with our clients, and seeing the economy up close and personal."Kiernan joined Infometrics in 1999, and was previously managing director in 2006, before moving to become operations director in 2014."I'm excited about the opportunity to build on the great work done by Brad leading Infometrics, and I look forward to driving further growth in the business," Kiernan said."As we have for more than 40 years, the Infometrics team will continue to provide valuable data, analysis, and insights across the New Zealand economy, and be an important contributor to the economic discussion in this country."