Ken West steps up at QXO

By Emma Peterson.

The hiring of Ken West, who previously led several business units for Honeywell, positions QXO for its next phase of expansion and innovation.

In August 2026, QXO announced Ken West’s appointment as president and chief operating officer (COO). In this role, Ken took over the day-to-day management of QXO’s operation as of September 1, 2026.

When asked about taking on this role, Ken shared, “I’m excited to join QXO at this pivotal moment in its growth. 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.”

Ken brings an extensive background of operational leadership and business transformation to this position. As a QXO representative described:

Ken is particularly strong in integrating large, complex businesses, having led Honeywell’s 2025 acquisition of Sundyne and spearheading its integration into Honywell’s automation and digital businesses. More recently, he led the acquisition of Johnson Matthey’s Catalyst Technologies business and spearheaded the integration process

He holds a masters in business administration from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.

This promotion has Ken reporting directly to QXO CEO Brad Jacobs, who had this to say about Ken, “Ken is an exceptional operator with the executional rigor to lead QXO’s operations. 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.”

Overall, Ken’s expertise coupled with QXO’s investments in a world-class technology stack promise to elevate QXO offerings and make it easier for QXO customers to do business.

Learn more about Ken and his role at QXO.