LAURENCE Modiano has resigned from the board of Australian Wool Innovation.

AWI chairman Wal Merriman today confirmed the resignation but could offer no reason.

"I guess that will be up to him,'' Mr Merriman said.

Mr Modiano's resignation comes after a tumultuous six months for the AWI and its board, which included the resignation in February of chief executive Brenda McGahan and several other senior executives.

Mr Modiano, head of the UK processor and exporter  G. Modiano and Co, was elected to the board in 2008 after he was drafted by growers opposed to the 2010 mulesing deadline and who wanted a greater share of AWI funds spent on marketing.

Mr Modiano was opposed to AWI's then business-to-business marketing strategies, preferring a more universal generic strategy of promoting wool.

Mr Modiano clashed several times with Ms McGahan over the marketing strategies.

Following her resignation, the board divided into two factions.

One faction included the members of AWI's marketing and intellectual property committee chaired by Chick Olsson and included Mr Modiano.

Mr Merriman was in the other faction.

Several weeks ago, the board disbanded the marketing committee.

The official AWI explanation was that because the board had now approved its strategic marketing plans,  the "marketing and IP strategic direction should be resolved at a whole-of-board level''.

Mr Modiano's resignation cuts  director numbers to seven, well under the limit of 10.

Whether AWI chooses to make a casual appointment remains to be seen.

But with AWI  locked in negotiations with the Federal Government and Agriculture Minister Tony Burke over the industry's next three-year statutory funding agreement, due to begin in July, filling the vacancy will be a low priority.

The statutory funding agreement sets down AWI's management and reporting of how it expends the 2 per cent wool levy and the Federal Government's matching research contribution of about $12 million.

In evidence presented to the recent Senate Estimates hearing, the  Government indicated it would be seeking "more authority to oversee and direct the operation of AWI''  through the funding agreement.

One possibility is for the Government to appoint one of two directors, not necessarily bureaucrats, to the AWI board.