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Sellafield Ltd announces Executive changes
Sellafield Ltd today announces three changes to the executive management team.
Director of Waste and Effluent Disposition Mike Johnson, Decommissioning Director Russ Mellor and Chief Engineer Tony Green are all moving on, and will be replaced by Tom Foster, Jim French and Dawn James respectively.
Managing Director Dr Todd Wright said: “Whilst it is always sad to say farewell to colleagues, particularly ones who have achieved as much Mike, Russ and Tony, this move represents a new chapter in the Sellafield Ltd story.
“The great strength of Nuclear Management Partners is that our parent companies, as world leaders in the nuclear field, are able to draw on a wealth of experience from around the globe and find truly world class replacements.
“The original Executive team has guided the site through an unprecedented change programme and we have achieved significant successes, including things like MOX investment, accelerated high hazard reduction and major contributions to the Britain’s Energy Coast programme, such as the Port of Workington investment.
“It is common practice in the business world for executive teams to change frequently as different challenges are identified and are overcome. The new directors have a wealth of experience from various senior roles in the global nuclear Industry and will refresh the team with a new perspective to face the new challenges that lie before us.”
Tom Foster is currently Director for Remediation at Washington Closure Hanford, a URS-led joint project. Tom has nearly thirty years of experience leading efforts in project management, engineering and operations. His areas of responsibility have covered a spectrum of enterprises including nuclear operations, design authority engineering, environmental remediation, safety basis preparation, and manufacturing. He has held key senior management appointments at the Savannah River Site including Area Operations Manager and Chief Engineer.
Jim French was previously President and Project Manager, Savannah River Remediation LLC. Jim had the highest executive position within the company at the Savannah River Site (SRS) and oversaw a complex, integrated set of radioactive liquid waste facilities. These facilities remove high-level waste from the Site’s large waste tanks, turning the waste into a safe, immobile glass form. In addition, he oversaw other areas including the salt waste processing, removing low-level radioactive materials from the tanks, and safely demonstrating and proving new technology. His 36-years experience in the nuclear industry includes 20 years on US government projects, seven on three commercial nuclear reactor projects, and nine on U.S. Navy nuclear submarines. A champion of working safely, Jim has been instrumental in implementing comprehensive Integrated Safety Management Systems and ESH&QA programs.
Dawn is joining Sellafield Ltd from Amec, and will bring great capability and experience to the role. As a mechanical engineer with over 20 years experience in the nuclear sector Dawn has a comprehensive understanding of the challenges facing the nuclear industry. She is currently responsible for over 500 engineers, scientists, consultants, safety case specialists and project managers that support the UK's civil nuclear power industry, where she has successfully defined and implemented major change programmes that have resulted in a customer focused, high performing business. Dawn places a strong emphasis on staff engagement to foster a feeling of ownership which, combined with empowerment and development of talent, has resulted in an agile workforce that has been able to adapt to change and delivered high quality products and excellent results year on year.
Mike and Russ were part of the original NMP bid team and have been working in the UK for the past four years. They will both be returning to America take up new roles with their parent company, URS.
Todd added: “Mike has achieved great things during his time with us; including introducing the very first site wide Disciplined Operations Manuel, setting up the Heads of Manufacturing Programme and overseeing the first ever return of vitrified high level waste to Japan.
“Similarly Russ has been an important member of the team and has achieved so much during his time here.
“He led the initial re-organisation of the Directorate to transition Major Projects and Engineering to other Directorates and subsequent organisation changes that focused the Directorate and the site on the Legacy Ponds and Silos (LP&S) facilities as individual high hazard and high risk programmes. On Russ’s watch there has been a focus on not tolerating degraded conditions with solutions implemented in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS) and First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP). Other key achievements include reducing risk in the FGMSP by isolating and plugging degraded lines, reducing doses for workers in LP&S, meeting the license requirement for a waste removal building over the Solid Waste Storage and Retrieval facility, advancing the dates of completion of waste retrievals from the LP&S facilities and fully integrating the Windscale site management systems into Sellafield.”
Tony is returning to Amec, where he will take on a role in strategic programmes. Tony was a member of the NMP bid team from 2007 and became Chief Engineer in 2009, reconstituting a role discontinued by British Nuclear Group five years earlier.
Todd added: “Tony has made a significant contribution to the business through his work in broadening the scope of his function from ‘design only’ to best practise capability and assurance, addressing plant engineering, systems engineering, configuration management, and standards and assurance. He led the foundation of the Strategic Design Services Alliance and the incorporation of the Safety Case function into Engineering; establishing the principles that design and safety engineers would use to work more effectively on high hazard reduction and to better support projects and plants.”
