The Nuclear Company Announces Key Hires for Engineering and Construction Team

Barchart · 10/17 13:37

The Nuclear Company, a fleet-scale nuclear development company, today announced a series of construction and engineering appointments representing nearly 100 years of energy industry experience and leadership of billions of dollars of large-scale public-private partnership projects.

“This team of accomplished energy industry leaders is pioneering the use of recent mega project experience and data-driven approaches to reduce construction timelines and costs,” said The Nuclear Company Chief Nuclear Officer Joe Klecha. “Their proven abilities to build at scale, ensure regulatory compliance and deliver world-class results make them the ideal choices to support The Nuclear Company’s work to build 6 gigawatts of fleet-scale nuclear power.”

Appointments include:

Vice President of Engineering David Woods: Woods will lead engineering efforts that will employ both automation tools and lessons learned from recent projects that analysis indicates will reduce project timelines between 30% and 40%. He served as engineering director, also overseeing site design and resident engineering, for Southern Nuclear for Vogtle units 3 and 4, the first new nuclear reactors in America in more than 30 years. Woods also managed inspections, tests, analyses and acceptance criteria (ITAAC), driving a program that resulted in a significant reduction in the time required to successfully address regulatory requirements.

Prior to his work at Southern Nuclear, Woods worked for nearly 15 years with Exelon and Constellation Energy, serving in key roles including operations services manager and shift manager at Maryland’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, where he was licensed as a senior reactor operator.

Director of Project Controls Sumantra Ghosh: Ghosh joins The Nuclear Company from TC Energy, where he led project execution for all initiatives and focused on public-private partnerships in North America. That position followed five years with a joint venture that developed a $3 billion project in Edmonton that saw him lead all aspects of development and execution. Ghosh also spent nearly six years with Canada’s North West Redwater Partnership that included direct oversight of $2.5 billion in projects with more than 1,500 workers at peak construction.

Senior Director of Procurement and Construction George Koucheravy: With more than five decades of experience in the nuclear industry spanning public and private work, Koucheravy served in a variety of leadership roles supporting the completion of Vogtle units 3 and 4. As project director for Southern Nuclear, he was responsible for construction, procurement and subcontractor performance on the large-scale buildout, working with nearly 60 subcontracting companies. He joined Southern Nuclear to assist with Vogtle construction after having worked for Westinghouse Electric Company on the same project. Prior to that, Koucheravy served his country for more than 30 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a captain. His roles included command at sea of a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, as well as command of a naval base.

The Nuclear Company emerged from stealth mode in July with the mission to address America’s surging energy demand driven by AI data computing, onshoring manufacturing, and the electrification of everything. The International Energy Agency projects global electricity demand will increase nearly 30 percent by 2030 — the equivalent of adding the energy requirements of another United States and European Union combined. Despite the need for nuclear’s zero-carbon power, the biggest challenge facing the industry is that one-off nuclear projects almost always are over budget and behind schedule. The Nuclear Company’s model seeks to avoid these pitfalls.

The company’s fleet-scale model combines using proven, licensed technology and a design-once, build-many approach to lower costs and minimize delays. The model is anchored by the Industry Working Group of partners that include utilities and independent power producers, hyperscalers, nuclear technology suppliers, and private equity. By joining together, each Industry Working Group member helps mitigate risk and make nuclear power an attractive investment.

About The Nuclear Company

The Nuclear Company is a fleet-scale nuclear development company using proven technology to construct a series of nuclear power plants across America. Through its design-once, build-many approach and coalition building across communities, regulators, and financial stakeholders, The Nuclear Company is committed to delivering safe and reliable electricity at the lowest cost, while catalyzing the nuclear industry toward rapid development in America and globally. For more information, visit: www.thenuclearcompany.com