Last month Xaar appointed former Inca boss John Mills as Edwards’ replacement, with an expected handover period running until the end of the year.

However, Xaar announced today (11 October) that the timings had changed.

“The handover of responsibilities and transition have progressed very well and so consequently Doug Edwards has agreed with the board to confirm John Mills as chief executive officer from today and to step down from the board,” the firm stated.

Former Kodak executive Edwards joined Xaar as CEO in January 2015. His ambitious plans for the inkjet developer, including doubling sales to £220m by 2020, fell by the wayside as the firm’s problems mounted up during his tenure, culminating in the decision to scrap its Thin Film inkjet activities, writing off £39m in the process.

The firm’s share price was 379.75p when Edwards joined, and was at 49.2p at the time of writing.

Xaar said that Edwards will still be available to the business until 31 March 2020, and continues as chairman of Xaar 3D until the end of the year. He will also work with the group’s US-based Product Print Systems operation on its business plan.

Xaar is in the process of consulting with employees over job losses related to exiting the Thin Film business.