Stephen Hester is everything his predecessor Sir Fred Goodwin was not. He is large in stature, he has no discernible accent and he is a banker rather than an accountant.

Hester's track record combines a firm commitment to success with some willingness to take risks and a barely concealed ruthless streak.

Schooled in a North Yorkshire comprehensive, he won a first in PPE at Oxford. His first job was assistant to the chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston, which was then making huge waves, virtually creating the eurobond market.

Hester rose fast, to become the Swiss/US bank's youngest managing director. But he was ultimately forced out by chief executive John Mack for guaranteeing bond traders multimillion-pound bonuses.

He next surfaced at Abbey, the former building society, where as finance director he almost immediately issued a profits warning. He went on to clear out the balance sheet before selling the bank to Santander for £8 billion.

British Land came as a welcome break from banking, where his open style of management and blunt approach shocked the industry. But like all the preceding jobs this was a mere rehearsal for the main show, which he is now staging at RBS.