Jock Lennox, who lost out to Mark Otty in the race to become Ernst & Young chairman in 2005, has decided to retire from the Big Four firm.

Lennox, who was 49 when he ran for the chairmanship, has already lined up a non-exec role at Oxford Instruments.

He will retire at the end of March next year.

The firm said in a statement: 'Jock Lennox, who has been a partner at Ernst & Young since 1988, has decided to retire from the firm at 31 March 2009.

'Jock has had a highly successful career at Ernst & Young, most notably handling and developing important client relationships and encouraging the careers of many of our younger partners and staff.

'He is recognised by his peers as a leader in our market and has held a number of different roles that have contributed to the development of the firm's business, actively supporting the international progression of Ernst & Young and the expansion of our clients.'

Further Reading:

E &Y's Lennox gets non-exec role

Read Taking Stock's take on the E&Y leadership battle