Adam Paker, the chief executive of the Amateur swimming Association (ASA), has left the organisation.

Paker joined the national governing body in autumn 2014 after spending three years with Commonwealth Games England.

ASA chair Mike Farrar said that Paker had left a “strong legacy”, which included “reversing the declining participation numbers for swimming, encouraging greater diversity and promoting a new insight-led approach”, but the ASA would not comment any further on the nature of his departure.

When he joined the organisation, Paker stated that he wanted to “get more people swimming”.

According to Sport England’s latest Active People Survey, the number of people swimming over the 12 months from April 2015 has remained reasonably flat over the past two years at the 2.5m mark, representing an improvement on the steady decline in participation the sport had seen over the last decade.

Paker – alongside director of participation Nick Caplin – launched the ASA’s participation strategy last year, which set the ambitious target of returning the sport to its “heyday” when it counted on more than 3m regular participants.

However, the ASA will now search for a new chief executive to see that strategy through and will begin it search for a permanent leader in September. ASA chief operating officer Jane Nickerson takes over as interim CEO in the meantime.