The manufacturer’s sales director in the UK for the last 19 years, Todd worked for Heidelberg for 24 years in total.

His departure from the business, on Friday (1 November), follows that of former managing director Gerard Heanue, who took early retirement in April and was succeeded by Ryan Miles.

Todd said his departure marks “an opportunity to explore other avenues in the printing industry”.

“It's a fascinating business and it's been in my blood since I started work in the R&D department at Baker Perkins, working on a prototype G16.”

He added: “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Heidelberg, the board of directors and our executive team.

“A lot has changed in our portfolio of products and services since 2000, and that combined with the profile of a continuously consolidating market has driven the ongoing evolution in our sales strategy and kept the changes ringing. However, now is as good a time as any to try something new.”

Miles added: “Jim has been a great ambassador for our brand, and we would like to thank him for his contribution to our business over the years. We wish him the best in all his future endeavours.

“A benefit of good succession planning is that we have continuity in key customer facing positions and we are therefore able to ensure that our focus remains on delivering a best-in-class customer experience.”

Regional sales managers Neil Fletcher and Phil Buttress, who have been mentored and developed by Todd over the years, have taken on greater sales leadership roles and will be directly supported by Miles.

“Neil and Phil are well experienced in our market and have both been well prepared and equipped to deliver our exciting strategy and new business models to customers,” said Miles.

“With their contribution our focus remains on shoring up Heidelberg’s industry leading position and on putting the customer at the centre of everything we do.”

At a group level in Germany Heidelberg has implemented a number of cost reduction and profit improvement measures this year as the business strives to achieve a sustained increase in profitability.

Last week it was also revealed that Heidelberg’s chairman, Siegfried Jaschinski, is stepping down from the role early for personal reasons and will be replaced by management consultant Martin Sonnenschein.