Whitmore (pictured) joined the organisation, then known as Postar, as its first managing director in November 2005. During his tenure, he led the development of its new digitally led joint industry currency, which is due to launch this year.

A successor is yet to be appointed. Katherine Almond, chair of Route, will lead the search for a replacement, along with respective chairs of the associations representing the buy and sell side of the sector, the IPAO’s Chris Daines and Justin Cochrane of Outsmart.

Whitmore said: “For health reasons, I have made the decision to stop work. It will be sad to leave, but it’s an exciting time for the business and I am confident that Route will continue to grow under strong leadership.”

Route is underwritten by the industry, including media agencies Kinetic Worldwide, Mediacom Outdoor, Posterscope, Rapport Worldwide and Talon Outdoor. The media owner guarantors are Clear Channel Outdoor, JCDecaux and Global. 

Katherine Almond, chair of Route, said: “With the imminent release of the renewed currency, it is clear that Route will continue to deliver world leading OOH research and analytics, setting benchmarks that allow the medium to flourish and grow. We will begin the process of finding a successor to James immediately. We want to build on his great work in creating not only Route, but also this latest iteration.”

Daines added: “Under the leadership of James Whitmore, measurement moved from posters to the digital OOH world that we live in now. With the release of the new look Route, delivered under James’ expert guidance, this is a good time to look to the next era of leadership.”