Australia Post chief executive Ahmed Fahour - who was criticised by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for his $5.6 million salary - has resigned from the job after seven years.
Mr Fahour, who began the job in 2010, tendered his resignation to the Australia Post board on Wednesday.
Speaking at the company's half-year results at a press conference in Melbourne, Mr Fahour said: "With the business now poised to start a new transformation, I believe that it is appropriate and time to hand over the reins as the head of Australia Post.
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Australia Post CEO Ahmed Fahour quits
Mr Fahour came under fire recently after it was revealed that he earned $5.6 million last year. (Video courtesy: ABC News 24)
"This has been a difficult and emotional decision for me and my family, but I have come to the conclusion that the timing is right."
Mr Fahour said: "I have been in this job for seven and a half years; it's time.
"CEOs have to know when to go.
"My job is done - I've achieved everything I needed to achieve."
Mr Fahour said that he had taken the recent controversy about his salary into "consideration" but that he began planning to step down at the end of last year.
It was "completely not true" to say he had resigned because of the salary issue, he said.
He said he had only planned to serve as chief executive for around five years when he began the job and that he was looking forward to a break after the "unrelenting" demands of the role.
He took a shot at One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who had criticised his salary, by saying that running Australia Post is a "little bit more complicated than running a fish and chip shop".
Mr Fahour said there were doomsday predictions about the future of Australia Post when he took over but the company had successfully transformed itself from a letter and stamps business into a parcels and e-commerce giant.
Mr Fahour's successor can expect to receive a reduced salary given the Turnbull government has given the independent Remuneration Tribunal oversight of the chief executive's salary and conditions.
The Australia Post board had previously set the chief executive's salary independently.
Australia Post chairman John Stanhope said in a statement: "By any measure, Ahmed has done an astounding job in transforming the business.
"When he started, he was set the challenge to 'write the next chapter in the history of Australia Post' – and he certainly rose to that challenge."
In the six months to December 31, Australia Post reported a net profit of $131 million, up from $16 million last year. Strong parcel growth and increased revenue from higher stamp prices helped offset an 11 per cent fall in letter volumes.
"This is one of the strongest first half results in recent history and it demonstrates that we are on the right path to ensuring the future of Australia Post for our people, the community and our important stakeholders," Mr Fahour said in a statement.
When Mr Fahour's controversial salary was revealed earlier this month, Mr Turnbull said he had spoken to Mr Stanhope to say it was "too high".
Liberal Senator James Paterson, who chairs the committee that forced Australia Post to reveal Mr Fahour's salary, said: "Ahmed Fahour's resignation gives Australia Post the opportunity to reset its executive remuneration policies and adopt a new approach to transparency.
"They should do so bearing in mind that Australia Post is owned by taxpayers, who expect it to be well run and don't mind the executive team being generously remunerated, but not beyond community expectations.
"They are also entitled to the absolute best standards of transparency, not the bare minimum required by law."
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