TORONTO - The managing director of Twitter Canada has unexpectedly stepped down a year and a half after taking on the job.

Rory Capern said on Twitter that he was grateful for the chance to lead the division and was looking forward to what's next, without saying what that might be.

Capern didn't respond to a request for comment on why he left, while a Twitter Canada spokesman declined to provide a reason.

The spokesman said a search is underway for a new managing director and that Leanne Gibson, Twitter Canada's head of agency development, will lead the office on an interim basis.

Capern took on the role in early 2016 after the company spent more than a year looking for a replacement for former director Kirstine Stewart.

Stewart, who had previously led CBC English services, was promoted to Twitter's vice-president of North American media in September 2014 before leaving the company last year.