British bank Barclays pPlc has appointed James “Jes” Staley chief executive and said the former JPMorgan investment bank boss will be paid up to £8.24 million a year.

Barclays chairman John McFarlane said yesterday Staley, who will take the Barclays helm at the start of December, had the appropriate leadership talent and wide-ranging experience to deliver shareholder value and take the bank forward.

“In particular, he understands corporate and investment banking well, the re-positioning of which is one of our major priorities,” McFarlane said.

Barclays said Staley’s annual pay will consist of a salary of £1.2 million, a role-based “allowance” of £1.15 million in shares, a cash allowance of up to £400,000 and up to £5.5 million in annual bonus.

He will be granted about £1.9 million of Barclays shares to compensate him for an unvested share award granted to him by JPMorgan, which is forfeited when he starts at Barclays. He will also receive standard benefits including medical cover, life assurance and relocation costs.

Boston, Massachusetts-born Staley, 58, is currently managing partner of US hedge fund firm BlueMountain Capital Management.

The keen yachtsman previously ran JPMorgan’s investment bank and asset management business and had been at the bank for 34 years before leaving in early 2013 to join BlueMountain. He made the shortlist when Barclays last looked for a CEO three years ago.

Previous Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins was fired in July after losing the support of non-executive directors in a clash over style and the pace of the bank’s turnaround.

Staley will face a number of challenges at Barclays. The bank is just over halfway through a three-year plan to cut 19,000 jobs, including 7,000 in the investment bank, still faces litigation issues and is trying to improve returns.