Mum's the word: LSE breaks male bastion tradition with new CEO

The mother of three takes over the role from Gavin Casey, who resigned last year in the wake of Swedish OM Gruppen's failed attempt to buy the London exchange.

Although not a well known figure in the brokering community, Furse, the former head of French bank subsidiary Crédit Lyonnais Rouse, will be entrusted with guiding the LSE out of its most turbulent period in recent times.

At Crédit Lyonnais, Furse oversaw the company's conversion from an equity floor-trading business to a screen-based system - experience that will stand her in good stead for overseeing the implementation of new technology at the LSE.

Furse may also be required to steer the company through a merger or takeover. In September a proposed merger with the Deutsche Börse fell through and the exchange has so far resisted approaches from OM Gruppen and more recently Nasdaq, but it is believed the LSE is still looking for some form of alliance.

Other changes on the board at the LSE see the departures of Simon Robertson, MD of Goldman Sachs and Nigel Sherlock, a director at stockbrokers Wise Speke.