Jemima Bird, marketing director at Musgrave Retail Partners GB, is leaving the business, The Grocer can reveal.

Bird, who has been at Musgrave GB since January 2007, is leaving on 31 January for a role outside the grocery sector.

Bird is an influential marketer, having joined Musgrave GB from The ­­Co-operative Group where she worked for 11 years as food store general manager and latterly as director of brand marketing. At The Co-op Group she was part of the team that created the society's 'Good for Everyone' strapline.

"I'm very proud of what the team achieved and I still have a soft spot when I see the new brand on the high street or see the relaunch ad with Bob Dylan," she recently told The Grocer.

At Musgrave GB, she was responsible for an extensive overhaul and relaunch of the Budgens and Londis own-label lines, including the launch of a new basics range called Good Value in January. Musgrave GB has relaunched 500 lines in total this year with a further 100 expected.

Bird was last week included on The Grocer's list of the 35 most influential women in grocery. She memorably described herself as having used "the pickaxe in my Prada handbag" to smash through the glass ceiling after starting at Asda as a ­graduate.

"Retail is a brilliant ­career and I'd love people to think of it as a primary career choice," she said.

"Work hard and you can move from checkout operator to CEO there are not many industries you can do that in."