O'Donnell, an Australian who joined the developer in 2006, decided to leave Nakheel following five years spent with the company after completing his contract terms, the company said in a statement.
"The Board of Directors of Nakheel wish Mr O’Donnell all the best in his new endeavours,’ Nakheel said, without saying when O'Donnell finished his job at the company.
O'Donnell has overseen a traumatic time in Nakheel's history during which the developer behind Dubai’s palm shaped island was the biggest casualty of the emirate’s real estate crash, halting work on a number of offplan projects.
Nakheel’s inability to meet its obligations left it with billions of dirhams in unpaid bills to contractors and suppliers and helped trigger Dubai’s debt crisis in 2009.
O'Donnell joined Nakheel from the Investa Property Group, where he was managing director for six years.