Momentum managing director Sam Nichols is leaving the company at the end of the month to go travelling.

Her role will be handled by Xavier Marchand, president of international distribution at Alliance Films, on an interim basis.

Nichols, who has been in the role since June last year, is currently responsible for theatrical, home entertainment, TV and new media revenues for the distributor. She was previously head of distribution and is also a former head of marketing at the company.

During her tenure, she created campaigns for a number of movies including Amelie, The Magdalene Sisters, Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Downfall, Broken Flowers, Vera Drake, Tsotsi, Control to name a few.

Nichols, who has worked in the independent film sector for the last 14 years, started her career at distributor Electric Pictures.

Nichols said: ‘The people who know me are aware of my tendency for adventure and offbeat challenges.  My next one has been brewing for a while. It is not an Arctic crossing but a lifestyle choice – a backpack to take me to the most beautiful and far flung places around the world and then a small Greek island, a goat, some bees and olive groves beckon.”