Francesco Caio to join Lehman Brothers

The charismatic former chief executive of Cable & Wireless, Francesco Caio, is to join Lehman Brothers investment bank.

The US bank will announce next month that the Italian, who was ousted from the telecoms group in February, will join as vice-chairman of its European operations. It is not known precisely what sector he will work in, but it is likely to be Lehman's telecoms practice.

The 48-year-old ran Cable & Wireless for three years before he left. He received one year's basic salary of £700,000 as a pay-off. His departure was announced after the company's second profits warning in three months and a wholesale restructuring of the business.

Mr Caio made his name running Italian telecoms supplier Omnitel in the early 1990s, before taking over at electronics group Olivetti. In 2000 he became the chief executive of UK-based telecoms Netscalibur.