# WH Smith names former Balfour Beatty boss as executive chairman

By Dan Coatsworth — 2026-01-19

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “If any business needed a corporate ‘Mr Fix-it’ right now it’s WH Smith and the appointment of Leo Quinn as executive chair is an interesting one.

“Quinn has led previous recovery efforts at De La Rue, QinetiQ and Balfour Beatty.

“This may give him some credibility as he looks to rebuild trust with WH Smith shareholders bruised by a recent accounting crisis.

“The need to restate profits for two financial years, thanks to income in its North American business being logged too early, unsurprisingly led to the exit of WH Smith boss Carl Cowling.

“It also ruined what was supposed to be a brave new chapter in the WH Smith story after it sold off its UK high street assets to focus on its global travel division.

“WH Smith is still under the cloud of being investigated by UK regulators over breaches of listing and transparency rules.

“Quinn clearly sees potential in the business, which benefits from a captive audience in airports and railway stations, and the nature of his compensation and a personal investment in the shares means his interests are aligned with investors’.

“The size of the package on offer may still raise some eyebrows.

“However, if Quinn can emulate the 200-percent-plus total return he achieved during his time in charge at Balfour Beatty, any questions over remuneration are likely to dissipate.”

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