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Francke, 42, does not have a job to go to. She told Marketing that she had not resigned, and stood by an official statement issued by Masterfoods that her departure was "mutually agreed".

She added: "It was entirely amicable. Mars is a great company. I had a stimulating and rewarding time but felt after two-and-a-half years that I had accomplished all I had set out to do."

Francke said she would "continue to act as a consultant to Mars on a number of projects

while considering her next career move.

As vice-president of European petcare marketing, Francke ran marketing for some of Europe's best-known petcare brands, including Pedigree, Whiskas, Sheba, Cesar and KiteKat. She was poached to the top petcare marketing job in 1999 from Procter & Gamble, where she was general manager, cosmetics new business development and signed Madonna as the face of Max Factor.

Gottfried Groebl, chief operating officer for Masterfoods Europe, said he would consider a successor for the top marketing job later in the year.

See Masterfoods story, page 5.