Jim O’Neill, the chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, has decided to retire from the firm later this year, the New York firm said Tuesday.

O’Neill is renowned for defining the concept of the BRICs, which described the emergence of Brazil, Russia, India and China as growth opportunities, and challenged conventional thinking about emerging markets.

He joined Goldman Sachs in 1995 as a partner in the roles of co-head of global economics research and chief currency economist. He was named head of global economics, commodities and strategy research in 2001. In 2010, he took up his current role as chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Prior to joining Goldman, he was head of research for Swiss Bank Corp. from 1991 to 1995. He joined SBC in 1988. Prior to that, he was with Bank of America and International Treasury Management, a division of Marine Midland Bank.

O’Neill is chairman and a founding trustee of the London-based charity SHINE and also serves on the board of Teach for All and a number of other charities specializing in education. He has an honorary doctorate from the Institute of Education, University of London, for his educational philanthropy.