Kreston says it will commence the search for a new CEO at the earliest possible date. Once the new CEO has been recruited, Lisby will change his role to chief operating officer and will remain with the network to facilitate a smooth changeover and assist the new CEO before retiring from Kreston on 31 May 2019.

Lisby said: ‘It is so disappointing that my final period with Kreston has been spoiled in this way. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the CEO role and am proud of the achievements made together with the board, members and international office team.’

Bent Kofoed, Kreston chairman, said: ‘The board and the membership worldwide have been saddened by news of Jon’s illness. This was not how we anticipated his period as CEO would end.

‘Since his appointment in January 2006, we have progressed to a network with a globally co-ordinated quality monitoring and inspection process. We are seeing sustained growth in the number of firms adopting Kreston branding and have a significantly raised global profile.

‘We have expanded from 70 countries to over 110, and our aggregate fee revenues, despite the global economic crisis have risen from $1.1bn (£800m) to $2.4bn (£1.74bn)’.

Founded in 1971 and currently ranked at 16 in Accountancy’s international networks and associations league table, Kreston comprises 180 firms in 113 countries. 

Report by Pat Sweet