Dan Glickman will relinquish his post as chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association Of America (MPAA) when his contract expires in September 2010.

Glickman revealed his decision in an interview that appeared late on Sunday night on the website Politico.com, saying: “My guess is that I’ll end up in the nonprofit or academic world. People who know me know I’ve had these great extracurricular interests that have been very significant in driving me.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger is among the list of possible successors floated by Politico, alongside former Rep Harold Ford Jr, Universal Music lobbyist Matt Gerson, Rep Howard Berman, Richard Bates of Disney, MPAA COO Bob Pisano, and federal affairs chief Michael O’Leary.

Glickman will have served five years in the post and leaves behind an unremarkable track record.

Hollywood’s chief lobbyist drew criticism from sectors of the industry when he failed to keep intact $246m in Hollywood tax breaks from the economic stimulus bill earlier in the year at a time of rising production costs and the ongoing allure of international incentives.

Glickman, who served as agriculture secretary under former President Bill Clinton, failed to make any meaningful headway in the fight against piracy and repeatedly declined to update data revealing the level of potential lost earnings to MPAA affiliates.

Urbane and intelligent by nature, as a figurehead Glickman’s phlegmatic style meant he never managed to emerge from the shadow of his flamboyant predecessor Jack Valenti.