Crawford Gillies, the former chairman of legacy Hammonds, has been appointed as a non-executive director of Barclays, charged with overseeing the way the bank pays its senior staff.

Gillies, who will join the bank's remuneration board from 1 May, will succeed Sir John Sutherland as chairman of the board remuneration committee at a date yet to be decided.

He became the first non-executive chairman of Hammonds – now Squire Sanders - in 2006, remaining at the firm for three years. He was previously managing director for Europe at blue chip management consultant Bain & Co for 23 years.

Gillies is also listed as a non-executive director of Standard Life and outsourcing company MITIE Group.

The appointment comes amid a dispute between the bank and shareholders over pay.

Last month, the bank awarded its top executives more than £32m worth of bonuses, including £703,808 in shares to newly-installed general counsel Bob Hoyt, just four months after starting in the role.

Barclays also stunned City watchers and investors alike by increasing last year's bonus pool to £2.4bn, despite a drop in pre-tax profits.

"I am delighted that Crawford has agreed to join the Barclays Board," said Barclays Group chairman Sir David Walker. "He brings immense experience in a range of different industries, including the financial services sector, in addition to a background in strategy and the public sector."

Gillies has also held positions within the Department of Trade & Industry between 2002 and 2007, and was a former chairman of the Confederation of British Industry in London.

Separately, yesterday (14 April), London-listed mining company Fresnillo announced it had appointed Linklaters senior corporate partner Charlie Jacobs as a non-executive director, in a rare move for a full-time practising UK lawyer.

Jacobs, who will also chair Fresnillo's remuneration committee, will remain a full-time partner at Linklaters.