Nigel Turner joined McCarthy & Stone just 18 months ago from Kier where he worked for 21 years, rising to property services director.
Turner’s main job was to drive down building costs at the developer.
He was one of two chief operating officers at the firm, one with responsibility for sales and the other construction delivery.
McCarthy & Stone will revert to a more traditional structure of one chief operating officer, Mike Lloyd, who will continue to focus on the core areas of sales, customers and services.
Turner leaves with immediate effect.
John Tonkiss, chief executive, said that in light of the impact of Covid-19, McCarthy & Stone had reviewed its resources in line with anticipated workflow and demand and adopted a more streamlined approach.
He said that several of the initiatives that Turner was brought in to deliver had also now been successfully completed.
The firm’s four divisional managing directors, who are responsible for all build operations, will now report directly to Tonkiss.
He said: “I would like to thank Nigel for his hard work and enthusiasm since joining us and he has helped us make significant progress with delivering our new strategy.
“This includes leading our build cost reduction activity, which is central to our margin improvement plans, and driving material change in our effective management of health and safety.
“We wish him the very best for the future.”