Mr Jones, 44, was named on Tuesday afternoon as the successor to Adair Turner for the high-profile role of director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Digby Jones takes up the post on 1/01/00

Birmingham-born Mr Jones is currently chairman of the CBI's West Midlands region.

He was described by colleagues as a hard-working, ebullient businessman with a wealth of experience.

The rewards of the job are pretty good - a £200,000 pay package for running a staff of 230 and managing a £17m budget.

Digby Jones outlines his vision for his new role

It is certainly a post with some clout. A survey of the most powerful people in the UK put Adair Turner at number 93, just behind the Pope.

What the job involves is formulating policy on behalf of the 250,000 public and private companies and 150 trade associations which belong to the CBI.

Corporate lawyer

CBI president Sir Clive Thompson said of the new director general: "His breadth of business experience across many sectors, his international work and his understanding of the needs of manufacturing and smaller firms give him the depth and perspective he needs to represent the interests of CBI members.

"This is the first time that a serving CBI regional chairman has been appointed director general and there is no doubt that his inside knowledge will enable him to hit the ground running."

Mr Jones said: "It will be a challenging time for British business and I believe the CBI can make a real difference at this time of great change."

He began his career with corporate law firm Edge and Ellison and joined KPMG in 1998.