Managing director of Harrods, Michael Ward, will step down this year after working for the company for over a decade.

According to Sky News, Ward's departure was announced to the department store's staff on Thursday evening and it is not known whether a successor has been found to take on the role.

Mr Ward trained as a chartered accountant with Ernst and Young in 1980, moving to PwC and subsequently Arthur Andersen. In 1986 he became group finance director at Bassett Foods, the confectionery maker behind Refreshers and Sherbet Fountains, while gaining an MBA.

In 1989 he moved to drinks at HP Bulmer, and five years later became managing director at Lloyds Chemists. A stint at private equity firm Apax led Ward to help it acquire grocer Somerfield. In 2005 Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods, offered Mr Ward the top job at the department store, where he managed the smooth transfer of ownership to Qatar Holding, an investment arm of the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, which acquired Harrods for £1.5 billion.

Harrods draws around 15 million shoppers annually and managed to pay owners a £103 million dividend for the year to the end of January 2015.