Leadership

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.

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.

Appointed Non-executive Group Chair on 20 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.

Appointed a Non-executive Director in June 2015

Stephen is Non-executive Chairman of Urenco Ltd (one of the World’s major nuclear fuel cycle companies).

He was CFO of British Energy Group plc (FTSE 100 power generator) and WS Atkins plc (FTSE 250, and UK's largest engineering consultancy) and as Executive Chairman ran Punch Taverns plc (UK's second largest pub owner). He played instrumental roles in the financial and operational transformation of all three companies. He has also been Chairman of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust and Anglian Water Group.

He spent 11 years with Balfour Beatty's predecessor company BICC plc.

Appointed a Non-executive Director in 2015

Stuart has over 45 years’ experience in the civil engineering, construction and infrastructure sectors, and was Chief Executive of Costain Group PLC between 2001 and 2005.  This followed executive positions in Welsh multi-utility Hyder plc, Alfred McAlpine plc and Tarmac Construction, where he represented the company on the Channel Tunnel board, following 20 years with John Laing Construction.  He has also served as a senior Non-executive Director to Scott Wilson Group plc, and as Chairman of Silverdell Plc, Somero Plc and Beck and Pollitzer Limited.

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.

Appointed a Non-executive Director with effect from 1 April 2022

Louise has over thirty years of business and leadership experience in the construction and built engineering industry.

A Civil Engineer, she has held a range of senior roles at London Underground, Bechtel and Laing O’Rourke and as Infrastructure Director responsible for the portfolio of projects for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Her most recent executive appointment was European Project Excellence Director for AECOM, where she was responsible for monitoring project performance across a portfolio of 10,000 projects across 15 countries and eight businesses within Europe.

Since then, she has held a number of non-executive roles in the public sector and FTSE250, including at Genuit Group, Renew Holdings and Sirius Minerals. Louise is currently a non-executive director of Crest Nicholson and Severfield. She is also a keen volunteer within the industry as a STEM Ambassador and Diversity Champion.

Appointed a Non-executive Director in July 2017

Michael has worked with construction and infrastructure providers for four decades and has extensive knowledge of the US market. He has held a number of leadership and finance roles, including Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at CH2M HILL and Partner and Global Leader at Ernst & Young Global LLP Infrastructure, Construction & Engineering Practice.

Latterly, he has acted as a strategic advisor to companies and private equity firms in the engineering and construction industry.

Michael is currently a board member at HMC Architects, Pankow Builders, Psomas Corporation and also serves as an Advisory Board member at Anchor QEA, LLC. He is a Trustee of The California State University Foundation and is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of The California State University System.

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 chair of the Rail Safety Standards Board, Senior Independent non-executive director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Medica Group Plc, and a non-executive director at Aptitude Software Group plc and Agility Trains East (Holdings) Limited. Additionally, she is a director at Heartgood Ltd and at Kipling House Management Right to Manage Company Limited.