Evans, who will take up her appointment from 1 April, will be one of only three women on the FRC's board of 16 in total. Baroness Hogg (pictured) is board chairman and Elizabeth Corley, CEO of Allianz Global Investors Europe, is a non-executive director.

From July, the FRC board will be larger, and the regulator told CFO world it was likely to increase the number of female members to around five out of a total of 18 board members.

From October the governance regulator will require all public companies to on outlining the number of women on boards as well as policies to boost diversity.

Evans also sits on the board of and is a trustee of the Wellbeing of Women and the Wigmore Hall Trust charities.

She was previously non-executive chairman, Europe, of the and vice chairman at Barclays Capital from April 2008 to October 2010.