A close adviser to former French President Jacques Chirac is set to take the reins at Wendel Investments, after the family controlled private equity group parted company with its chief executive Jean-Bernard Lafonta.

Frédéric Lemoine, non-executive chairman of French nuclear group Areva and a senior adviser at McKinsey, was appointed on Wednesday night by the board to replace Mr Lafonta in a bid to end more than a year of family in-fighting over leadership and strategy.