Ambitious Trevor Matthews might be being kept a hostage by his former boss Sandy Crombie at Standard Life for as long as possible but new employers Friends Provident have already begun clearing the way ahead of his much-awaited arrival as chief executive at the end of July. After 35 years in the industry and seven years on the board of Friends Provident, Ben Gunn , the chief of its core life and pensions business, will retire at the end of 2008. The 57-year-old Mr Gunn started his career in 1973 at Guardian Royal Exchange and ended up at Friends after its 1998 takeover of London and Manchester, where he was managing director.

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