Signia Wealth’s chief executive and founder, who has been one of the most high-profile women in the UK wealth management business, has resigned, the firm has confirmed.

Signia Wealth’s chief executive and founder Nathalie Dauriac-Stoebe, who has been one of the most high-profile women in the UK wealth management business, has resigned, the firm confirmed, following some media speculation on 24 December saying she had left.

"The board of Signia Wealth confirms that Nathalie Dauriac-Stoebe, chief executive, has tendered her resignation from the business. She is leaving the firm at a time when Signia Wealth’s performance for both its discretionary and hedge fund portfolio is extremely strong.  The board has commenced a search for a successor who will continue to build on the success of the business," a statement from the company said.

The statement gave no further details on why Dauriac-Stoebe has stood down or what her future plans are. A Sky News report on 24 December referred to "tensions" between Dauriac-Stoebe and senior colleagues, but did not elaborate.

Signia said that Paul Lester, chairman of Signia, will be in charge of the business in the interim period before a new CEO is appointed.

Dauriac-Stoebe’s departure may raise eyebrows at a time when there remain concerns that women are under-represented in the higher echelons of the wealth management industry.

She comes from a French family with strong connections to the country’s wine industry – she hails from the St Emilion region of France.

There have been a number of comings and goings at Signia, which oversees more than £2.2 billion ($3.58 billion) of client money, in recent months. The property head at Signia Wealth – David Hayes – is leaving the company, having joined in 2010. Other departures include that of client director Greg Malone; head of investment solutions Martin O'Hare; head of alternative investments Ameet Patel; and private equity directors Spencer Moulton and Ana Maria Harrison; alongside three client directors. Another departure - after being in the post for just 12 months - was that of Rupert Robinson, a former CEO at the private bank of Schroders.

On the other hand, Signia in February appointed Paul Lester as its company chairman (as mentioned above), having previously been chair of Greenergy International, and FTSE 250-listed John Laing Infrastructure. In October 2013, it appointed Michael Rosenthal as head of hedge fund investment, joining from Amundi Asset Management.

Signia won authorisation from the Financial Services Authority – as the regulator was then called – in March 2010. The firm was founded with backing from entrepreneurs such as John Caudwell, the founder of Phones4U (which went into administration earlier this year. Caudwell has not been involved with Phones4U for a decade after selling that business).

Before founding Signia, Dauriac-Stoebe was a senior client partner at Coutts & Co where she lead the international proposition for clients with foreign domicile. She was among the founders of the Coutts Private Office.