Sir Digby Jones to join Deloitte as adviser when he leaves CBI

Sir Digby Jones's main role when he steps down from the CBI will be with the accountants and business advisers Deloitte.

The combative director-general of the CBI also expects to announce three other positions over the next month, two of which will be in the manufacturing sector and one in financial services.

A lawyer by background, Sir Digby will complete his six-and-a-half-year stint at the CBI in June, when he will be succeeded by Richard Lambert, a former editor of the Financial Times.

Sir Digby will spend about half his working time at Deloitte, which he describes as his "primary" future role. He can expect to be well paid, as partners at the firm are some of the best-paid at any of the Big Four accountants, making an average of £702,000 last year.

"I am particularly pleased I will be working at Deloitte. I love business and I want to stay politically independent so I can keep fighting for business," he said.

Sir Digby will have two roles at Deloitte. Firstly, he will work with the firm's various sector teams, providing his expertise and introducing colleagues to members of the business community. And he will work with the younger employees, helping with their professional development, which he said he would especially enjoy.

Secondly, Sir Digby will be a personal adviser to John Connolly, Deloitte's chief executive, helping him with new business opportunities and relations with government. He said he would spend much of his time travelling to India, China and the US.

Sir Digby has one existing non-executive directorship at a public company - Alba, the consumer electronics group. He said he would not be seeking more non-executive positions. "Being an adviser gives you more freedom and it is better paid," he said.

Referring to legal obligations of directors in the US, he said: "£60,000 to risk prosecution? No thank you."

He also has two charity roles, working for Unicef and Cancer Research UK.

Sir Digby's time at the CBI has made him one of the most recognisable business figures in the country, ready to offer an opinion to the media on most subjects as "the voice of business". He championed British business in visits to more than 60 countries in his time at the CBI.

The 50-year-old, who was born in Birmingham and educated at University College London, worked for Deloitte's rival KPMG immediately before his CBI role, where he was vice-chairman for corporate finance. He was ennobled last year.

Sir Digby is married to Pat, and they divide their time between Marylebone, in west London, and a home in Warwickshire. He lists his recreations as theatre, skiing, football, rugby, cricket and "more than a passing interest in military history".