Executive shakeup at Hampshire defence firm QinetiQ
QinetiQ, a defence tech firm based in Farnborough, has announced the departure of its CFO along with a pair of appointments to the new roles of COO and chief executive UK defence.
Group CFO Carol Borg has stepped down, to be replaced by Martin Cooper no later than October 2024.
Martin is a qualified chartered accountant with more than 25 years’ experience leading multi-disciplinary teams in senior finance roles.
He joins QinetiQ from BAE Systems, where he’s held a number of positions – including UK & rest of world financial controller, divisional finance director, and most recently, investor relations director.
In the meantime, Heather Cashin, currently QinetiQ’s group financial controller, has been named interim group CFO. Carol will also stay on until the end of July to support interim arrangements.
QinetiQ has also appointed Iain Stevenson as COO and Will Blamey as chief executive UK defence. Both will join the firm’s leadership team and report to Group CEO Steve Wadey.
The company says the new role of COO will provide increased focus on the delivery of consistent operational performance across the group as it continues to grow.
Iain is currently deputy chief executive of UK nuclear company AWE and is set to join QinetiQ in July.
He’s an experienced senior business leader, having previously led large business divisions in the defence and construction sectors.
Meanwhile, Will has proven instrumental in the successful development and delivery of major programmes at QinetiQ, including its long-term partnering agreement.
Will joined the company in June 2018 and was previously MD, maritime & land.
Steve Wadey, Group Chief Executive Officer said: “I’d like to thank Carol for all her service and contributions over the last few years and wish her well for the future.
“The board and I are delighted we’ve secured the talents of both Martin and Iain, and welcome them to the QinetiQ team.
“Martin brings valuable global experience, coupled with deep financial and operational expertise.
“His detailed understanding of our sector and the markets we operate in will be instrumental in helping the group perform and grow.
“As our new COO, Iain’s demonstrable track record of delivery in programme management and operational performance will strengthen the strategic and operational capabilities of the group.
“Together with Will’s promotion, these appointments add strength and depth to our leadership team.
“They’ll further enhance our capability to execute our plan for long-term growth and deliver compelling shareholder value.”
The shakeup follows the publication of QinetiQ’s Q4 trading update, which identified ‘good operational performance’ for the period ended 31st March 2024.
Though its global solutions division has seen slow growth due to difficult market conditions in the US, stronger performance was observed in EMEA services, which delivered ‘excellent revenue growth’.
Full preliminary results will be published on 23rd May.
