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Lloyd, who joined the DMA in 1993 as the chief executive, has overseen its growth through mergers with other trade bodies. It now boasts 860 corporate members, including many leading direct marketing agencies.

The DMA has promoted James Kelly, its chief operating officer, to the role of managing director. Jenny Moseley continues as the chairman of the DMA until the end of the year.

Moseley is likely to recommend to the DMA board that Lloyd is not replaced directly, but that a think tank is established to cover areas that fell under Lloyd's remit.

Lloyd is leaving to focus on his role at the venture capitalist group Mentor and on building a range of non-executive directorships. He is expected to continue in his role as the chairman of TrustUK, the ecommerce standards scheme.

Lloyd said: "I have been here for nine years now, which is a few years longer than my friends thought I would be. My main task was to address the needs of members, while running the DMA as a successful business. Over the nine years the DMA has become a conglomerate of ten trade bodies."