Reporting directly to chief executive Antony Jenkins, Kheradpir will take responsibility for operational processes and systems which support the delivery of products and services to customers as well as the bank's technology agenda.

Kheradpir - who starts in the new role immediately and also joins the executive committee - arrived at Barclays from US telco Verizon in January 2011 as COO for retail and business banking. He has been a driving force in the development of Barclays' successful mobile payment app Pingit, the roll out of iPads to front line staff and the restructuring of internal staffing to bring the technical teams closer to business users in the operations department.

He will now also take on some of the responsibilities previously held by former COO Jerry del Missier, who was forced to resign last summer over the Libor scandal.

Says Anthony Jenkins: "Improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations, facilitated in part by technological innovation and automation, were identified as a key priority in the Strategic Review we unveiled last month.

"The interconnectivity between this agenda, and the opportunities for Barclays and our customers and clients opened up through technological developments, are clear. The creation of this role is designed to ensure we have the appropriate focus on both areas.

"Since joining Barclays in 2011, Shaygan has been instrumental in helping devise and drive technology solutions and operational improvements at Barclays, including leading the introduction of award-winning initiatives such as Barclays Pingit, and I look forward to supporting him in this new challenge."