Financial services veteran Sir Keith Skeoch has joined an education charity as chair along with Julian Ide who becomes vice chair.

Didasko Education Company was established by Scottish investment companies and is home to the Edinburgh-based Library of Mistakes which is expanding in the UK and internationally.

In the UK the charity is accelerating plans to educate young people about personal finances and support young women into roles in the finance sector.

It is opening a financial history library in London and producing a series of financial history podcasts. It plans a library in Singapore next year and is in negotiations about further libraries in Paris, Toronto, Montréal and Mumbai.

Sir Keith, who was co-CEO of Standard Life Aberdeen, will replace Tony Foster as chair and will take on an ambassadorial role, publicising the charity’s roots in Scottish finance and the attendant values of education and long-term planning.

He said: “Those of us in finance, most particularly those of us who had the honour of leading companies, know the great value of learning from the past so that we can constantly improve.”

Mr Ide, a former CEO of fund manager Martin Currie, will focus particularly on the charity’s expansion in London.

The charity and its Library of Mistakes brand have attracted followers from around the world through its unique approach to understanding how finance operates and how improvement can come through critical analysis of its activities.

The library, which already has branches in Switzerland and India, is free to use and open to all. It runs events, festivals, webinars and podcasts, all with the aim of making the study of finance both entertaining and rewarding.

Didasko has become a leading proponent of the value of education in finance since its inception more than 20 years ago and seeks to encourage learning across a broad spectrum of stakeholders, from school children through to amateurs, professionals and academic institutions.