Rooney Anand on Tuesday said he will call time on working at pubs giant Greene King, which he has led for nearly 14 years.
The 54-year-old plans to step down as chief executive of the FTSE 250 firm at the end of the financial year ending April 30 2019.
Anand has been with the brewer and landlord since 2001, and was promoted to the top job four years later.
He has steered the business through tough times, including the smoking ban.
He is one of a handful of BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) bosses at FTSE firms.
Anand said Greene King is performing ahead of the market and added that with a “strong team” in place, “the time is now right for me to hand over the baton”.
Greene King said the hunt for a successor “is well advanced”.
Any new hire will have to grapple with industry-wide difficulties, including rising business rates and wage bills.
