After eight seasons on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, Dragon Arlene Dickinson is departing the series to pursue other business endeavours, the CBC announced Friday.

“After eight incredible seasons, listening to thousands (!) of pitches, and building a portfolio of successful investments, I’ve decided it’s time to give up my chair on Dragons’ Den,” Dickinson said in a statement.

Outside of her work on Dragons’ Den, Dickinson is the CEO of marketing communications company Venture Communications. She is also the CEO of YouInc.com, an online community designed to support entrepreneurs that features posts from Dickinson, other entrepreneurs and the company’s full-time staff.

The announcement of the marketing and communications professional’s departure comes ahead of the series’ 10th season on CBC, set to bow this fall. Dragons’ Den is averaging 975,000 viewers in its ninth season. Numbers for its recently-launched online offshoot, the Next Gen Den, aren’t yet available.

– with files from Val Maloney, Media in Canada