Parting of ways for Beyonce and manager father

The Grammy-winning singer and Mathew Knowles have parted ways “on a business level”, her publicist said.

“I am grateful for everything he has taught me,” Beyonce said. “I grew up watching both he and my mother manage and own their own businesses. They were hard-working entrepreneurs and I will continue to follow in their footsteps.”

She did not say what led to the split, but her father said the decision was mutual.

Knowles has managed his daughter since she debuted as a teenager in the multi-platinum-selling group Destiny’s Child in the late 1990s and throughout her superstar career as a solo artist.

He oversaw all aspects of Beyonce, from music to movies to fashion and more. Her career includes 16 Grammy awards, top-grossing movies Dreamgirls and Obsessed, fashion ventures and lucrative endorsements.

The 29-year-old has released three multi-platinum albums – Dangerously In Love, B’Day and I Am ... Sasha Fierce – and has 12 Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, including five No. 1s. Destiny’s Child had 11 Top 10 hits on the Hot 100 chart and six No. 1s.

During Beyonce’s teenage years in Houston, Knowles prepared her, her friend Kelly Rowland and two others for a rising career as an R&B girl group, and Destiny’s Child released its self-titled debut in 1998.

Their album, The Writing’s On the Wall, came a year later and won multiple hits and two Grammys, but the success also shook up the band and Destiny’s Child became a trio with Beyonce, Rowland and Michelle Williams.

The three also released solo albums, all managed by Knowles. He launched his own label, World Music Entertainment, via Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music.

Rowland parted with Knowles as her manager in 2009 and Williams followed a year later.

In a statement, Beyonce stressed her devotion to her father on a personal level.