The chief executive of Clarks has side-stepped away from his role, after less than a year, for “broader responsibilities” at the private equity group that owns the British shoemaker.

Victor Herrero, who took up the reins of Clarks in February, oversaw a number of cost-cutting measures including forcing staff to choose between signing new contracts or accepting redundancy in a bid to realise his ambition to develop the company into an iconic footwear brand, to contend with the likes of Birkenstock or Dr Martens.

Being “on track to meet or exceed its forecast revenue goals,” Victor Herrero was now free to turn his attention to new roles in the Lion Rock group, a Clarks spokesperson confirmed today.

“Victor has done an incredible job in a much shorter than anticipated time and gives us a unique ability to accelerate the next stages of our growth plans,” the spokesperson added.

Herrero, who will stay on as a director at Clarks, will be succeeded by Clarks chair Johnny Chen as interim chief executive.

With seven different leaders at the company over the last six years, Clarks has undergone a number of changes including its founding family losing control of the company for the first time since 1825, earlier this year after Lion Rock bought a majority stake in the business in a £100m deal.