Only the Tour de France has generated more negative publicity than Heathrow this summer. This will be of little comfort to cycling fan Stephen Nelson, the chief executive of BAA. Everywhere he looks there have been damning headlines criticising both his company and his favourite sport.

Mr Nelson increasingly looks to be the wrong man in charge of the wrong company. He was given the top job at BAA, the airports operator, last year after a career in retail, including J Sainsbury and Diageo.

Retail has been the bedrock of BAA’s profitability for years, but the world in which BAA operates has become much more complex. Mr Nelson must now combat international terrorism and pacify irrated passengers while continuing to generate huge profits for BAA’s new owner, Ferrovial, of Spain. Adding to Mr Nelson’s difficulties this summer is the need to find a new head of Heathrow after the departure of Tony Douglas. As the job comes with its own poisoned chalice, finding candidates will not be easy.

Mr Nelson, 44, is an intelligent and charming man. Friends say that he is ambitious and it was inevitable that he would catch the eye of Ferrovial executives, who promoted him from BAA’s retail director to chief executive just over a year ago.

Mr Nelson left Sainsbury’s, the supermarket chain, in 2005 after two years as marketing director. Prior to that he had spent seven years with Diageo, the drinks company. During his time with Diageo, Mr Nelson was in charge of the Guinness World Records.