Fiona McKissock will leave the job managing "the largest people business in the district" at the end of the year.
Embedding the $18 million Alpine Aqualand, increasing revenue year-on-year and reducing reliance on ratepayer funding have been credited to her by the Queenstown Lakes District Council-controlled organisation.
Lakes Leisure took control of the Wanaka Community Pool, sports turf management across the district, development of Alpine Health and Fitness and the management of the Frankton Golf Course during her tenure.
Ms McKissock last week said she had completed what she set out to do and was leaving the organisation and its team in a good position to reorganise for the next period of growth and development.
"The Lakes Leisure I joined in 2008 was smaller. It faced multiple community and organisational challenges and was still finding its way.
"The organisation I am leaving is a strong, diverse and much valued regional facility that achieves its brief of increasing community participation in sports and leisure."
Asked last week if the resignation was a surprise to him, Lakes Leisure chairman Mike Saunders said Ms McKissock had been in the role for four years and people looked for new ventures.
"The company's grown in that time hugely and I think she just made that decision it was time to move on to new challenges."
The Otago Daily Times understand staff were ordered not to speak to the media about the resignation.
Asked if rumoured discontent among some Lakes Leisure staff under Ms McKissock's management was a factor in her departure, Mr Saunders said he thought she had given the staff a lot of coaching and support over the years.
"As the company's grown, people's jobs change, roles change and some people are maybe not quite as happy as others, but that's just the nature of business."
