Bord Failte's general manager Europe is the latest member of the tourist board's senior management team to resign. Ms Orla Brannigan is leaving to become senior vice-president of marketing at Flexicom, a Dublin-based software company specialising in the development and marketing of electronic solutions.

Ms Brannigan's resignation follows the surprise departure of director general, Mr Matt McNulty, earlier this month and the equally unexpected resignation of international marketing director, Mr Noel Toolan, last year.

Ms Brannigan had been with Bord Failte for two and a half years and was widely tipped as a likely successor for either Mr McNulty or Mr Toolan.

Along with Mr Toolan, she was a central figure in the development of the Tourism Brand Ireland campaign.

In addition to her work on Tourism Brand Ireland, one of the first tourism marketing attempts to brand a country, she was involved in the domestic tourism marketing campaign.

Bord Failte's chairman, Mr Mark Mortell, said he was sorry to see her go but she had been offered "a magnificent opportunity with matching package" which the State sector couldn't match. "She has been a huge asset to Bord Failte. But it's a fantastic offer and I can only wish her the best," he said.

Mr Mortell now faces the task of recruiting three new members - a director-general, a marketing director and a general manager Europe - to his five-person senior management team. He said the only positive in Ms Brannigan's resignation was that it gave him a clean sheet going forward.

"There's an opportunity there to rebuild the whole thing from the inside out. There will be a lot of scope for senior management coming in."

Ms Brannigan said she was looking forward to applying her skills and experience in a new industry.

She said Flexicom was well positioned in the domestic market but the challenge would be to gain a greater share of the market worldwide.