The resignation was announced ahead of its shareholder meeting today to approve its new direction after it sold its Telstra stores recently and announced a move to concentrate on its beauty businesses.

Under that deal, Vita Group would exit the Telstra consumer stores for $110 million and the company will concentrate on its Artisan Aesthetics Clinics.

Under the new strategty, Horne will shift into the role of non-executive director and Pete Connors will take on the chief executive role. Chairman Dick Simpson will also resign and be replaced by Paul Mirabelle. Neil Osborne will also resign from the board.

Although the move was announced at today’s general meeting they would only come into effect after the annual general meeting later this month.

The Vita Group was founded by Horne and her former husband David McMahon in 1995 when they opened a shop on the Gold Coast. Since then it has grown to 100 Telstra shops that will be sold back to the communications giant and 21 Artisan clinics.

Vita’s shares took a heavy hit when Telstra announced its decision to bring the stores back in-house earlier this year and were suspended from trade this morning ahead of the shareholder meeting this morning.

No detail was given for Horne’s resignation as chief executive.