Sunday 25 May 2014

Energy and Climate Change Minister, Lord Hunt, today announced the appointment of Peter Jones and Ian Smale as Non Executive Directors of the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL). As Non Executive Directors they will work alongside the NNL Chairman, Richard Maudslay CBE, and the recently appointed Management Contractor to tackle the UK’s nuclear waste legacy and also contribute to the programme of nuclear new build.

Lord Hunt said:”It is our vision that, as we develop the next generation of nuclear power in the UK, the National Nuclear Laboratory will set the standard internationally for expertise in nuclear research and development. I am pleased to welcome Peter Jones and Ian Smale, and the knowledge and expertise they bring to this valuable work.”Notes to Editors:   1. As Non Executive Directors, Peter and Ian join Richard Maudslay, whose appointment as NNL Chairman was announced on 28 May. They replace Susan Jee and Sue Quint who have been filling the Non Executive positions on a temporary basis since April 2009.

2. Peter and Ian have been appointed for three years from 1 August 2009. Their backgrounds are:

Peter Jones:

A qualified Chartered Certified Accountant, Peter’s initial business experience was at the National Coal Board, including four years in the Chairman’s private office. He then moved into investment banking (at HSBC and its predecessors) where his main focus was on energy businesses, including strategic advice to the DTI on its holding in BNFL and work for the DTI and BNFL on options for managing the nuclear clean-up programme. He left HSBC in 2003 and since then he has run his own consulting business. His main clients have been the government (DTI and Shareholder Executive) and BNFL. In 2005 he was appointed a member of the Competition Commission and he has subsequently served on four merger inquiries.

Ian Smale:

Ian has worked in BP his entire career. Starting as a geologist he has worked on both the upstream and the downstream sides of the business. He has been Chief Executive of Marketing and Distribution in BP South Africa where he led a successful turn-around of the business. He then headed up BP’s highly regarded Global M&A team before moving back to the upstream as President and Chief Executive of BP North Africa where he led BP’s return into Libya after a 34 year gap. He is now Group Head of Strategy and Policy accountable for the short/medium and long term strategy and portfolio development working directly with the Main Board, the Group Chief Executive and the Executive Management team

   3. The appointment has been made in accordance with the requirements of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

   4. Peter and Ian will each receive a salary of £25,000 per year.

   5. The appointment is made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any are declared) to be made public. No political activities have been declared.

   6. The NNL was launched by John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), on 23 July 2008. It is the successor organisation to Nexia Solutions and was originally owned by British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL). As part of the wind-down of BNFL, ownership of the NNL transferred to the Government on 1 April 2009. The Shareholder Executive exercises shareholder responsibilities on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, successor to BERR for energy activities. The NNL is operated under a Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) arrangement and a management contract was awarded to a consortium of Serco, Battelle and Manchester University on 3 April to run the NNL on Government’s behalf.

   7. The NNL currently provides a range of services, notably in support of the nuclear decommissioning programme and the continuing operation of British Energy’s nuclear power plants. The Government has concluded that the NNL contains a number of critical skills essential to support nuclear power generation in the UK. Further details are available at www.nnl.co.uk.