It was a year of turmoil for the organization that represents downtown businesses, and now comes word the organization known as Downtown London has parted ways with its CEO and general manager, Janette MacDonald.

MacDonald was the face of the organization for 17 years, overseeing a number of revitalization initiatives for the Business Improvement Area.

But in recent months there has been growing unrest among merchants and property owners about the direction of the organization.

That came to a head at the London Downtown Business Association’s (LDBA) annual general meeting held in January.

Along with concerns about financial accountability, members took issue with how the board was constructed.

On Thursday morning a letter was circulated to members announcing MacDonald’s departure.

LDBA President and Board Chair Gerald Gallacher wouldn’t say what prompted the change or who initiated it.

"Her departure was yesterday and the rest of that is a human resources issue I can't comment on."

Some association members had also been unhappy with the way they were represented on a wide range of issues, including downtown parking and the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit.

Gallacher says the board is committed to improving relations with members through a number of approaches including, "Open communication, collaboration with our members, being able to listen to their needs. And, hopefully, we can move forward and get things done."

In the meantime, Gallacher says it will be businesses as usual as the search gets underway for a new general manager.

"There is an oversight committee made up of myself, John Fyfe-Millar and Lori Da Silva who will be assisting the staff with day-to-day operations. And a search committee has been struck as well and they will begin the task of finding a replacement."

Gallacher expects the search committee will utilize a recruitment firm and he's confident the position will attract strong candidates.

CTV News attempted to contact MacDonald for her thoughts but was unsuccessful.