Executive Directors
Appointed to the Board as Group Chief Executive in January 2015
Leo Quinn was appointed to the Board of Balfour Beatty as Group Chief Executive in January 2015, returning to the company where he started his career as a civil engineer. He was educated at Portsmouth University and Imperial College, London.
Leo joined the Group following five years as Group Chief Executive of QinetiQ Group plc and five years as CEO of De La Rue plc. He led both companies through successful transformations which restored each business to strength and created over £1bn of value in each case.
Prior to that, Leo spent almost four years headquartered in the US as COO of Invensys plc’s $3bn Production Management division. He also worked with Honeywell Inc for 16 years in various senior management roles across the US, UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, ending as Global President of H&BC Enterprise Solutions.
A passionate believer in skills training, Leo founded The 5% Club which encourages companies to invest in the next generation and address the national skills shortage. It's members aspire to build a workforce where at least 5% of employees are either apprentices, sponsored students or graduates in formal training programmes.
In 2021, Leo’s contribution to business was recognised through his appointment as a visiting professor at the College of Business and Social Science at Aston University.
A summary of the role of Group Chief Executive includes the following:
- Executive leadership
- Strategy development and the stewardship of physical, financial and human resources
- Group operational and financial performance
- Health, safety and environmental performance
- Corporate culture, embodied in values, ethics and social responsibility
- Organisational structure, succession and talent management, including objective setting for the senior management team
- Major capital expenditure prioritisation and allocation of resources
- Consideration of acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and financing
- Stakeholder management.
Committees
- Group Tender and Investment Committee (Chair)
- Finance and General Purposes Committee (Chair)
- Safety and Sustainability Committee
Appointed to the Board as Chief Financial Officer in June 2015
Philip joined Balfour Beatty as CFO in June 2015. He was previously Group Finance Director at Hogg Robinson Group plc. Prior to that, he was the Group Finance Director at VT Group plc. Philip served as VP Finance at Hewlett-Packard Europe, Middle East and Africa region and was a member of the EMEA board.
His earlier career included senior international finance roles at Compaq, Rank Xerox and Texas Instruments.
Philip is a non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Dowlais Group plc and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Committees
- Group Tender and Investment Committee
- Finance and General Purposes Committee
Non-executive Directors
Appointed Non-executive Group Chair in July 2021
Lord Allen has extensive corporate experience across a range of sectors, most notably in support services and media.
His previous positions include Chair of ISS AS, Executive Chair of EMI Music, Chief Executive of ITV plc, Chief Executive of Compass Group and Chief Advisor to the British Home Office.
He sits in the House of Lords and currently holds positions as non-executive chair of THG PLC, Advisory Chairman at Moelis & Company, Chairman of Global Media and Entertainment and Chair of the Invictus Games Foundation.
Committees
- Nomination Committee (Chair)
Appointed a Non-executive Director in March 2024
Gabby is an Aeronautical Engineer with a diverse international career including 21 years in the Australian Army. She was previously Chief Executive Officer of the logistics business, Linfox International Group. In 2017, she joined BAE Systems plc as Chief Executive Officer of BAE Systems Australia before being promoted to her current role of Group Managing Director, Business Development and a member of the Executive Committee.
Committees
- Safety and Sustainability Committee (Chair)
- Nomination Committee
Appointed a Non-executive Director in December 2018
Anne has worked in the energy industry for over thirty years and has extensive knowledge of projects and operations across multiple jurisdictions including the US. Anne held a range of strategic, commercial and operational roles at BP plc including the positions of President of BP Indonesia and Managing Director of BP Norway. Anne’s most recent appointment at BP before retiring was President and CEO of the Canadian business.
Previously a Non-executive Director of Aker Solutions and also Tullow Oil plc (where she was appointed to a number of committees including remuneration), Anne is currently a Board member for Equinor, a provider of sustainable energy for the UK.
Committees
- Remuneration Committee (Chair)
- Safety and Sustainability Committee
- Nomination Committee
Appointed a Non-executive Director in April 2022
Louise brings over 30 years of business and leadership experience within the construction and built engineering industry.
As a Civil Engineer, she has held a range of senior positions at London Underground, Bechtel, and Laing O’Rourke, and served as Infrastructure Director responsible for the portfolio of projects at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Her most recent executive appointment was European Project Excellence Director at AECOM, where she oversaw the performance of 10,000 projects across 15 countries and eight European businesses.
Since then, Louise has held several non-executive roles in both the public sector and FTSE250 companies, including at Severfield, Genuit Group, Renew Holdings and Sirius Minerals. She is currently a non-executive director at Crest Nicholson and Travis Perkins, and is the independent chair of Oriel, a joint initiative between Moorfields Eye Hospital, UCL and Moorfields Eye Charity. Louise is also a keen volunteer within the industry as a STEM Ambassador and Diversity Champion.
Committees
- Safety and Sustainability Committee
- Audit and Risk Committee
Appointed a Non-executive Director in July 2017
Latterly, he has acted as a strategic advisor to companies and private equity firms in the engineering and construction industry.
Michael is independent Board member, Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of Zhibao Technology Inc. Michael is also a board member and chair of the compensation committee of Psomas Corporation, and a board member and chair of the audit and risk committee of Bernards Construction and HMC Architects, Inc. Michael is a member of the board of governors of The California State University Foundation, and a board member of Walker Consultants.
Committees
- Audit and Risk Committee
- Remuneration Committee
Appointed a Non-executive Director in March 2024
Robert is a highly experienced CEO and CFO and brings strong strategic, financial, and commercial experience to the Board. A Chartered Accountant by background, he was formerly CEO of Johnson Matthey plc from 2014 to 2022 and CFO from 2009 to 2014. Prior to this, he worked at WS Atkins PLC, serving as CFO for six years. Robert was a Non-Executive Director of Aggreko plc from 2007 to 2016 and he’s currently a non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of RELX plc and a Non-Executive Director of Vesuvius plc.
Committees
- Audit and Risk Committee (Chair)
- Remuneration Committee
- Nomination Committee
Appointed a Non-executive Director in June 2017
Barbara has over thirty years of business and management experience in the private, public and regulated sectors.
In the private sector she has held a series of strategic, commercial and finance roles, including Group Finance Director at Morgan Sindall plc, Regulatory Director at South West Water and Chief Finance Officer for two international listed IT companies.
More recently, she has been Director General at the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Transport, supporting policy implementation and leading commercial projects. Her most recent executive appointment was Chief Operating Officer at Westminster City Council.
Barbara is the independent chair of Agility Trains East and Agility TrainsWest. Barbara is also senior independent non-executive director and chair of the remuneration committee of Aptitude Software Group plc. Barbara is a non-executive director, chair-designate and member of the Quality and Safety Committee of Glas Cymru.
Committees
- Audit and Risk Committee
- Remuneration Committee
- Nomination Committee
Appointed to the Board as Group Chief Executive in January 2015
Leo Quinn was appointed to the Board of Balfour Beatty as Group Chief Executive in January 2015, returning to the company where he started his career as a civil engineer. He was educated at Portsmouth University and Imperial College, London.
Leo joined the Group following five years as Group Chief Executive of QinetiQ Group plc and five years as CEO of De La Rue plc. He led both companies through successful transformations which restored each business to strength and created over £1bn of value in each case.
Prior to that, Leo spent almost four years headquartered in the US as COO of Invensys plc’s $3bn Production Management division. He also worked with Honeywell Inc for 16 years in various senior management roles across the US, UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, ending as Global President of H&BC Enterprise Solutions.
A passionate believer in skills training, Leo founded The 5% Club which encourages companies to invest in the next generation and address the national skills shortage. It's members aspire to build a workforce where at least 5% of employees are either apprentices, sponsored students or graduates in formal training programmes.
In 2021, Leo’s contribution to business was recognised through his appointment as a visiting professor at the College of Business and Social Science at Aston University.
A summary of the role of Group Chief Executive includes the following:
- Executive leadership
- Strategy development and the stewardship of physical, financial and human resources
- Group operational and financial performance
- Health, safety and environmental performance
- Corporate culture, embodied in values, ethics and social responsibility
- Organisational structure, succession and talent management, including objective setting for the senior management team
- Major capital expenditure prioritisation and allocation of resources
- Consideration of acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and financing
- Stakeholder management.
Committees
- Group Tender and Investment Committee (Chair)
- Finance and General Purposes Committee (Chair)
- Safety and Sustainability Committee
Appointed to the Board as Chief Financial Officer in June 2015
Philip joined Balfour Beatty as CFO in June 2015. He was previously Group Finance Director at Hogg Robinson Group plc. Prior to that, he was the Group Finance Director at VT Group plc. Philip served as VP Finance at Hewlett-Packard Europe, Middle East and Africa region and was a member of the EMEA board.
His earlier career included senior international finance roles at Compaq, Rank Xerox and Texas Instruments.
Philip is a non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Dowlais Group plc and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Committees
- Group Tender and Investment Committee
- Finance and General Purposes Committee
Nick was appointed Chief Executive Officer – UK Construction Services in November 2024.
Nick is responsible for the strategic leadership of our UK Construction Services business including developing its presence in growing infrastructure markets including Energy Transition and Security, Defence and Security and sustainable Transportation. Along with his significant knowledge and understanding of the markets in which we operate, Nick has a wealth of experience of working with Government on behalf of industry.
Having studied Mechanical Engineering at Reading University, Nick has over 40 years’ experience within the industrial and engineering industries. He started his career as a graduate with BAE Systems, and has held roles with British Steel, Network Rail, Siemens and latterly, the UK and Ireland business of railway systems provider Alstom, where he was Managing Director.
Louise was appointed Group Director of Communications & Corporate Affairs in 2021.
Previously Group Head of Communications since 2018, Louise provides strategic oversight and direction to the Group in matters relating to public affairs and policy, media relations, reputation management, employee engagement and communications as well as brand and marketing.
Louise has extensive knowledge in corporate affairs, as well as previous experience in B2B marketing and consumer PR, and over 15 years’ experience in the construction and infrastructure industry.
Paul was appointed Human Resources Director in 2005 having joined the Group in 1996.
Paul is responsible for ensuring that the people practices and leadership development throughout the Group are aligned and support the achievement of the business strategy.
An essential element of Paul's role is to ensure the business recruits and retains sufficient talented people to achieve the business strategy together with equipping the current workforce with the skills to develop both professionally and personally.
Prior to joining Balfour Beatty, Paul held a variety of HR positions in Alstom, Massey Ferguson and United Biscuits.
Gavin was appointed Chief Executive Officer – Infrastructure Investments in January 2022.
He is responsible for the company’s £1.1 billion Infrastructure Investments portfolio across the UK and US.
Since joining Balfour Beatty in 2014, Gavin has held a number of strategic roles, most recently as Finance Director of Balfour Beatty’s Major Projects, Highways and Investments businesses. Previously, he was the Group Financial Controller.
Prior to joining Balfour Beatty, Gavin was at Ernst & Young where he worked across a wide range of industries.
Gavin is a Chartered Accountant and graduated from the London School of Economics.
Eric was appointed Chief Executive Officer, US Buildings & Civils in 2023 and is responsible for our US Buildings & Civils portfolio.
Eric joined Balfour Beatty in 2008. Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, US Buildings & Civils, he held a number of senior operational roles most recently as President of Balfour Beatty US where he supported operations across the Building & Civils portfolio as well as overseeing our US-wide shared services.
Eric holds a law degree from California Western School of Law and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from California State University, Northridge.
Stephen joined the Executive Committee in 2015.
A chartered civil engineer, Stephen first joined the Balfour Beatty Group in 1981 as a graduate engineer.
Stephen is responsible for the Group's transport, energy and power capabilities in the UK including the Major Projects, Highways, Power Transmission & Distribution and Rail businesses, as well as Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering. His responsibilities span an extensive portfolio of major infrastructure projects including nuclear new build and grid connection at Hinkley, nuclear decommissioning at Sellafield, as well as highways and rail schemes across the UK including the operation and maintenance of the M25 and projects within National Highways Roads Investment Strategy.
He also acts as Balfour Beatty’s shareholder representative on the Board of the company’s Hong Kong joint venture business, Gammon.
Stephen has an MBA from City University and is a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
Tracey was appointed Group General Counsel and Company Secretary in September 2020.
She is responsible for our Legal and Business Integrity teams and Company Secretariat.
Tracey has nearly 30 years’ experience in commercial and construction law. Prior to joining Balfour Beatty she was General Counsel and Company Secretary at Costain. Before Costain, Tracey worked for the legal firm Hammonds, as an Associate and then Partner.