ABI director-general Mary Francis has become a non-executive director of Centrica, Britain's biggest household gas and electricity supplier, and current owner of the AA.
It is believed to be the first time an ABI director-general has held a directorship of a FTSE 100 company, said a report.
Francis said if there were any issues involving Centrica and the ABI she would absent herself from discussions.
According to the report,Centrica said the AA was not a member of the ABI. It said the ABI has a separate subcommittee dealing with the interests of institutional investors, and that as Francis has no day-to-day involvement with those affairs there is therefore no conflict of interest.
Centrica is currently in talks over the sale of the AA for £1.5bn.
