Michelle Edge has stepped down as chief executive of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, a role to which she was appointed in April last year.

The Government did not explain her departure but said her deputy Professor Mehdi Doroudi would act in the role “while the government undertakes a process to seek a new Chief Executive to deliver the government’s agenda in primary industries and for the regions”.

In a statement Premier Steven Marshall said Edge had led the department not merely through the COVID health crisis but also “the state’s response to the current fruit fly outbreak”.

“I thank Mrs Edge for her service over the past two years, in which she has led the department through unprecedented times during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Marshall said.

Edge was previously the CEO of industry-government partnership Operational Solutions, for Primary Industries New Zealand, and before that led the Australian Meat Processor Corporation.

She also held roles in the Victorian public service and was a consultant in biosecurity, animal health and welfare, productivity, market access and commercial and industry development, the government said.