James Bidwell has announced he is to leave the post of Visit London Chief Executive after three years in the job.
He will remain at Visit London until the end of the year, when he will take up the position of Managing Director of US fashion brand Anthropologie, Europe.
"Visit London has made great progress over the past three years," said Bidwell. "Delivering record levels of spending by international visitors has been a real achievement. Tourism is one of the capital's most vital industries as it translates directly into jobs for London and Londoners."
Visit London's outgoing Chair Tamara Ingram will now remain with the company until April to help find Bidwell's successor. She said: "James has made an enormous contribution to Visit London transforming the organisation in to a world-class marketing agency, which the capital can be genuinely proud of. We will miss his energy and leadership but wish him well with his new challenge."
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "James has made a tremendous contribution to tourism in London. He guided the industry following the tragic bombings in July 2005 when tourism faced tough times. Visit London has flourished under his leadership into a multi-award winning agency that sets the industry standard for destination marketing."
London is the number one destination in the world for international travel, welcoming more overseas visitors than any other city on the planet. The capital's tourism industry is worth over £16bn to the local economy and supports over 250,000 full-time jobs.
