THREE businesses, two in south Wiltshire and one in Hampshire, have made four senior appointments.

QinetiQ, the defence technology and security company with a base at Boscombe Down, has appointed a new chief executive officer, Bournemouth & West Hampshire Water has two new non-executive directors, and Salisbury law firm Trethowans has a new partner in its family team.

Leo Quinn started at QinetiQ on Monday and replaces Graham Love, who played a key role in its expansion into the United States.

Mr Quinn was previously group chief executive of De La Rue, leading its transformation into a market-leading security printer, serving governments and central banks.

Before that, he was responsible for a number of business turnarounds in Europe and the United States.

QinetiQ chairman, Sir John Chisholm, paid tribute to Mr Love who, he said, had been instrumental in “transforming the company from a defence research organisation into an international provider of technology-based services and solutions”.

Of Mr Quinn, Sir John said: “Leo has an excellent leadership record with customers, employees and investors and the board looks forward to working with him to further accelerate the success and growth of the group.” Mr Love will remain a consultant to the group on the Defence Training Rationalisation project.

Bournemouth & West Hampshire Water, which provides water to customers in Dorset, West Hampshire and part of Wiltshire, has welcomed Peter Millward and Angela Lane to its board.

Peter Millward, a chartered accountant with a previous career in engineering, was a partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1984-2007 and leader of its water industry group for seven years.

Angela Lane has spent 18 years in private equity, and has been a partner in private equity firm 3i’s global growth capital business, responsible for UK investment and portfolio. BWHW chairman Jim McGown said: “We believe both these appointments will add great value to our business given the many challenges we shall face in the future.”

Yvette Rooke, who has joined Trethowans, specialises in divorce and co-habitation, particularly for clients who have complex business or pension arrangements.

Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession describes Ms Rooke as someone with a “no-nonsense, practical and down-to-earth demeanour”, and the Legal 500 directory as a “leader in her field”.

Andrew Mercer, partner and head of the family team at Trethowans, described her as “a real talent who will fit in here very well”.