Chris Gibson-Smith was an unexpected choice as chairman of the London Stock Exchange, being relatively unknown in the City when he was appointed in 2003.

His father and grandfather worked in the oil business and in 1970 he joined British Petroleum straight from university, rising to become chief geologist and later working in corporate planning. He left in 2001 when it became clear that he would not succeed Lord Browne of Madingley in the top job. He joined National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the air traffic controller, having rejected an offer to run Railtrack. Mr Gibson-Smith arrived at NATS just ten days before 9/11 plunged the airline industry into catastrophe and his new employer into a financial crisis that required fresh funds from shareholders, the airlines and the Government.

It was not long after his arrival at the LSE, in what was nominally a part-time job, that the Exchange became the target of a series of takeover approaches and bids, beginning in December 2004 with an offer by Deutsche Börse. Although required to pay lip service to shareholder value, it became clear that Mr Gibson-Smith and the rest of the board preferred to maintain their independence.

This stand was vindicated by a sharp rise in the LSE’s share price. The German approach came in at 530p; the last bid, from Nasdaq, stood at £12.43, but LSE shares have traded at well above that ever since, even before yesterday’s steep increase.

In person, Mr Gibson-Smith at first appears to be the typical corporate man – his nickname at BP was Chris Gibson-Smooth. But once engaged in intelligent discourse, he becomes more animated and open to debate. Just turned 62, he divides his time between his London flat during the week and his Guildford home at weekends. He has two grown-up daughters.

Known for relatively liberal views and an early espousal of corporate and social responsibility, Mr Gibson-Smith was appointed by Tony Blair to the UK Sustainable Development Commission. Among his other directorships is the chairmanship of British Land, the property company. His nonexecutive post at the Qatar Financial Centre Authority has gone largely unmarked in the City, but it is an important element in the negotiations between the LSE and the Qataris that would see London help to develop the stock market there.

Insiders insist that any stake taken by the Qataris in the LSE is complementary to this, rather than a necessary precursor. But yesterday’s swoop by the Qataris for a 20 per cent stake makes an eventual deal more likely.