In an internal announcement, chairman David Mitchell said discussions about the organisation’s future structure had resulted in "the mutual conclusion" that Shaw’s role was redundant.

Two weeks ago, Trevor O’Reilly, part of the 2009 MBI team alongside Mitchell, took over as chief executive.

Shaw had been with the £100m point-of-purchase specialist for 12 years and held various senior management roles during the period, most recently in sales. In the statement, Mitchell praised his substantial contribution to the organisation.

A source close to the company commented: "That’s life. The king is dead, long live the king. There’s a new management team and they obviously reserve the right to do things their way."