Alison Reed, Nish's predecessor had found that she needed to move on from Standard Life once the flotation was out of the way. Clearly she and the Edinburgh based Standard Life stalwarts were destined for different paths.

But Nish is flavour of the month. Indeed analysts seem particularly impressed with his intentions for the company's assets. In fact they've accused him of leading a signifcant 'cultural' change because of it.

Nish told us:

We are in the process of asset-gathering at the moment. Our principal asset is our property and we need to look at how to take capital out of property and develop other areas of the business.

We have the assurance type business, but also, increasingly, healthcare and investment management products. We can use some of the released capital to expand and develop these sectors,’ he says.

Glad to hear Nish has got the backing for this, because it strikes me that leading such a project does need the full support of the board. After all Nish is careful in interviews to point out that change does not mean ignoring the 'heritage and history' of the place. So he's a gent and a diplomat offering welcome words for the Standard Life old boys. Perhaps that's all they needed all along - a little bit of comforting. Though it strikes me that if you're going to launch on the public markets, comfort is one of the last things you can expect.