QXO Appoints New President and Chief Operating Officer

QXO, Inc. has announced the appointment of Ken West as president and chief operating officer, effective Sept. 1, 2026. West will report to chief executive officer Brad Jacobs and be responsible for QXO’s day-to-day operations.

West brings an extensive track record of high-impact operational leadership and driving major business transformations. He joins QXO from Honeywell Technologies, where he most recently served as president and chief executive officer of Honeywell Process Technology, which holds the leading global position in process technology. West has more than 20 years of experience leading large, complex industrial businesses across operations, strategy, finance and integration. He was responsible for the acquisition of Johnson Matthey’s Catalyst Technologies business and spearheaded its integration.

“Ken is an exceptional operator with the executional rigor to lead QXO’s operations,” says Brad Jacobs, chairman and chief executive officer of QXO. “He has demonstrated an ability to achieve outstanding results across a number of industrial businesses. His leadership will be instrumental as we look to scale our platform and deliver outsized shareholder value.”

Before Honeywell, West spent 13 years at PPG Industries, where he served as global vice president of packaging coatings and held leadership roles in operations, integration, corporate planning and finance. During his tenure, West led the integration of AkzoNobel Architectural Coatings North America, establishing PPG as the world’s largest coatings company.

“I’m excited to join QXO at this pivotal moment in its growth,” West says. “We have an extraordinary opportunity to build the preeminent company in the building products industry, and I’m eager to help transform the QXO team’s bold vision into reality.”

West earned an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.