Icap, the interdealer broker, has recruited Matthew Lester, a former corporate financier at Kleinwort Benson, as its group finance director. Lester replaces Jim Pettigrew, who steps down from the company next Friday.

Lester has spent the past decade at UK beverages group Diageo, where he was most recently group financial controller. He has also worked for the group as group treasurer and regional finance director for Diageo's key markets division.