Sir Alan Sugar has stepped down as chairman of Amstrad but insists that he is not retiring.
Entrepreneur and self-made multi-millionaire, Sugar, who has become known as the boardroom chairman in BBC reality TV show The Apprentice, said his resignation was planned after Sky acquired Amstrad in 2007.
The 61 year old will continue to be involved with his numerous other business interests, which include Amshold, Amsprop, Amsair and Viglen computers.
Sir Alan said it was now the "right time" for him to step down.
"The past 40 years have seen Amstrad grow from a start-up business to the success story that it is today, which is credit to the talented and loyal team here," he told reporters.
"This is a move that has been planned for a while and it's the right time for me to step down from my role at Amstrad."
Sir Alan, who left school at the age of 16 and founded Amstrad at the age of 21, has achieved a net worth of £830million, but most of his wealth now comes from his property portfolio, rather than business ventures.