The London Stock Exchange has stepped outside the financial world by picking Mr Chris Gibson-Smith, a British Petroleum veteran, as its new chairman.

Little known in the City, the appointment of Mr Don Cruickshank's successor comes as the LSE continues to seek to rebuild its international strategy following the collapse of its proposed merger with Deutsche Borse three years ago and its later failure to win Liffe, the London derivatives exchange.

Mr Gibson-Smith, 57, is chairman of Nats, the air traffic control service. He was one of BP's five group managing directors before leaving in 2001.

His £250,000 a year salary is lower than Mr Cruickshank's £350,000 plus share options package. In his last year at BP, Mr Gibson-Smith earned £2.5 million.