Morgan Stanley Investment Management is without a country head in Australia following an executive departure, said to be to a competitor.

After six years at Morgan Stanley IM, executive director and Australia head Damien Green has resigned and departed.

Industry talk that he is headed to a competitor could not be discussed with Green, whose mobile phone number while at Morgan Stanley has been disconnected.

A Morgan Stanley IM spokesperson said Green would be replaced, although perhaps not with exactly the same role, which reported through to the group’s Hong Kong-based Asia head, Blair Pickerell, and had a large degree of business development responsibilities. The spokesperson said Pickerell would co-ordinate the process to replace Green.

The spokesperson said it was “business as usual” in regards to MSIM’s investment capabilities, which include a top quartile Australian equity fund under Mark Skokic. The firm suffered a setback in March when its top-rated Global Franchise team, under Hassan Elmasry, left to set up on its own.