Tara Lordsmith, who was appointed general manager of marketing at Myer in January, is exiting the retailer after less than a year.
Lordsmith spent 10 years as FMCG maker Simplot's top marketer prior to setting up her own consultancy in 2013. She has been with Myer for less than a year after starting in January 2015 and is returning to her consultancy Lordsmith&Co.
She was appointed to work with then chief merchandising and marketing director Daniel Bracken, who joined Myer in 2013. Bracken has since been promoted to CMO and deputy CEO in the wake of previous CEO Bernie Brookes departure.
Lordsmith was tasked with building on Myer's 'Find Wonderful' brand position which was introduced this time last year ahead of Christmas - shortly after Myer appointed Clemenger BBDO Melbourne as its lead creative agency.
Lordsmith also headed up omnichannel solutions, advertising, media buying, brand management, visual merchandise, digital, events and public relations.
It's not known if the role will be diretcly replaced.
Hers is the latest in a raft of senior marketing departures in recent weeks. Kellogg marketing director John Broome is leaving amid a restructure while Unilever's joint top marketers Andrea Martens and Hugo Verkuil are both moving on to new roles as Unilever creates a CMO post.
Lordsmith told AdNews that while she thoroughly enjoyed her time at Myer, the time had come to get back to her own business.
"I wanted to challenge myself and get back to where my heart is, and that's in helping agencies and clients as they transform for the new world of marketing."
Daniel Bracken added: "Tara has resigned from Myer to return to the marketing consultancy firm she led prior to joining Myer. We thank Tara for her contribution, and her enthusiasm and passion, and wish her well. I am very confident in the bench strength of our team to continue to lead the marketing function while we review our future options. "
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