In a press release, Lindt said Linemayr was leaving to pursue a new challenge. He has been with Lindt since 1995 and become CEO of the US business in 1999.
The premium chocolate firm has appointed current vice president of sales at Lindt USA Daniel Studer as Linemayr’s replacement.
Strduer has headed Lindt’s US sales division for the past five years. He has been with Lindt since 2003 following earlier roles at Unilever.
Lindt USA, together with other group subsidiaries, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Russell Stover and Lindt Canada, grew sales 24.2% to $1.63bn in 2015.
The Lindt group last year overtook Nestlé to become the number three chocolate player in the world’s largest market, the US, behind Mars and Hershey.
Lindt USA – which sells products such as Lindor, Excellence and Lindt Gold Bunny – grew sales 8.1% in 2015. The growth was faster than Ghiradelli Chcocolate, which boosted sales 7.1% over the same period.