The University of Oxford’s head of development will be leaving his post this autumn, just months after overseeing the start, in May, of the most ambitious fund-raising campaign ever undertaken by a European university.

The university’s unexpected announcement said only that the official, Jon Dellandrea, would be leaving Oxford “to take up international consultancies.”

Britain’s Sunday Telegraph, however, reported that Mr. Dellandrea’s departure stemmed from pressure by Michael Moritz, a “dotcom multimillionaire” who donated $50-million to Oxford’s Christ Church College last month.

“The financier said he parted with his cash on condition that it was placed in a newly formed university-wide asset-management fund: ‘I made it clear to Christ Church that despite all its best efforts, noble intentions, and hard work, its money needed to be managed in a much-improved fashion,’” he said, according to the Telegraph.

The Telegraph said that Mr. Moritz had found Mr. Dellandrea, described as an “amiable bon vivant,” to be “obtuse” and “uncooperative.”

Mr. Dellandrea was hired in 2004 to take up the newly created post of pro vice chancellor for development and external affairs. He worked previously at the University of Toronto, where he oversaw the largest fund-raising campaign in Canada’s history.

Mr. Dellandrea’s abrupt departure should not adversely affect Oxford’s $2.5-billion campaign, university insiders said, although he would be replaced by an acting successor until a permanent one was found. The university has already raised more than half of its target figure.

“The initial phase of the campaign is over, and the university is moving on to the next phase, so he’s done what he was brought in to do,” said Nicholas Bamforth, a fellow in law at Oxford’s Queen’s College. —Aisha Labi