Walsh, who had previously served as part of former leader Gordon Brown’s business council, joins a group of industry figures that will attend quarterly meetings with the prime minister, deputy prime minister, chancellor and business secretary.

Cameron said: “The deputy prime minister and I want to make sure the government is getting really good high-level advice from some of Britain’s leading business men and women.”

The group comprises senior figures from the retail, manufacturing, banking, defence, aviation and pharmaceutical industries.

Cameron said: “Having an advisory group with a range of experience and expertise should ensure that there is real interaction and discussion.”

Members are not remunerated during their 12-month tenure and, according to Number 10 (the prime minister’s office), are required to give views “on a personal rather than corporate basis”.

Other prominent figures among the 19-member group include Sir James Dyson, founder of Dyson; Eric Schmidt, chair and CEO of Google; and Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline.