Yesterday, Dr Dowds told the Times-Age he planned to return to working in the tertiary education sector doing consultancy work, along with concentrating on other business interests such as property investment.
Before joining the council, Dr Dowds worked in Palmerston North with UCOL as professor and dean of international programmes.
His appointment to that position had been partly due to his expertise and knowledge of Southeast Asia, in particular China.
Preceding his job with UCOL was a 15-year stint at Massey University as executive director and deputy pro-vice chancellor at the College of Business and head of the School of Accountancy.
Dr Dowds is planning to move back to Palmerston North but to also retain ownership of his Martinborough home.
He confirmed he was leaving South Wairarapa District Council on friendly terms and said his decision to move on had nothing to do with the governance debate in Wairarapa.
"I've enjoyed the job," he said.
"There have been moments of stress and challenge, but on the whole it has been a good experience." Mrs Staples said council was yet to discuss Dr Dowds' departure and would look at options.
"This will not necessarily mean employing a new CEO, especially while local bodies in Wairarapa are in a state of flux," she said.
Dr Dowds is the fourth chief executive the council has employed since its inception by forced local body amalgamation in 1989. His predecessors were Griff Page, Ray McIndoe and David Whitehead.
Mrs Staples said Glenn Bunny had left to take up a key local body role in Australia and his departure had been a career move.
His job would be filled in the short to medium term by an internal appointment.
