Wolfgang Braun, chairman and CEO at StudioCanal in Germany since July 2009, will exit the company on Jan 1, 2012.

He will be succeeded by Rodolphe Buet, who has been European vp of international distribution and business development at Studiocanal’s HQ in Paris since January 2009.

Braun is understood to be returning to the world of independent production, where he operated from early 2008 and summer 2009 between stints as head of Buena Vista International Germany and Buena Vista Home Entertainment and the former Kinowelt in Leipzig.

This past summer saw Braun overseeing StudioCanal’s move from Leipzig to new premises at Berlin’s Hackescher Markt, close to the offices of the German Federal Film Board.

Braun’s departure comes less than a week after news broke that Carsten Fink, StudioCanal’s evp of media distribution and business development Germany, had stepped down for personal reasons after only six months in the post.