• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, February 1, 2006

Kate Everett-Thorp, considered one of the highest-profile executives in interactive media, resigned as president of interactive at the independent shop AKQA. She will be replaced by Andrew O'Dell, senior vice president of business development, said an agency spokeswoman.

Everett-Thorp quietly left the agency about 10 days ago; news of the move was first reported Tuesday by Adweek.

Reached by phone on Tuesday, she told OnlineMediaDaily that she left AKQA to explore other opportunities, especially in consumer-generated media, the blogosphere, or the mobile space.

Everett-Thorp, who was named an Online All Star in September by OMMA magazine, played a key role in recent AKQA client wins. One of the largest clients that she helped bring to the agency was Coca-Cola, which awarded AKQA its global interactive business last year.

Prior to joining AKQA in July 2004, she co-founded Lot 21, an Internet agency purchased by Carat in 2002. She stayed on for a year, then took a leave of absence to care for her newborn twins. Everett-Thorp isn't the only interactive marketing executive to leave an agency position recently. Last fall, Adam Gerber left MediaVest, where he headed up the new media strategy, to join Internet TV start-up Brightcove.