The Board

Julianne became Chief Executive Officer of UKNNL in April 2025, bringing over 25 years of nuclear sector experience to the role. 

After beginning her career as a Graduate Radiation Protection Advisor with British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, UKNNL's predecessor organisation, Julianne went on to hold strategic leadership positions at Nuvia, Atkins and PA Consulting before returning as our CEO. 

Julianne’s expertise lies in strategic implementation and operational excellence. During her career she has led and implemented transformational growth strategies, established strategic joint ventures between UK, European and international organisations and secured long term strategic frameworks with Government and commercial entities. As Global Head of Nuclear at PA Consulting, Julianne established and grew an innovative nuclear practice, working with clients across the entire nuclear fuel cycle from new build to decommissioning. 

Passionate about diversity and inclusion, Julianne has been a driving force for women in STEM. Her contributions to the nuclear sector were recognised with an Honorary Fellowship from the Nuclear Institute in 2023 and the National STEM Ambassador Award from Forward Ladies. 

Julianne holds an MSc in Pollution and Environmental Control from the University of Manchester and a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science from Manchester Metropolitan University. 

In her spare time Julianne enjoys being in the great outdoors with her family, from skiing and cycling to running and walking, with most big days out finishing with a refreshing glass of something cold and fizzy! 

Ian Funnell has had a long and distinguished career in the global energy sector. Originally joining ABB in 1999, he then was Director of Major Projects and later Managing Director of Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission. Ian re-joined ABB in 2012 in France as Group Vice President in the global utility sector and later as CEO and President of ABB SA (France).

Ian was CEO of ABB UK from 2015-2019, before becoming Chief Executive Officer of Hitachi ABB Power Grids joint venture in the UK and Ireland in 2020. Ian is Chair of CBI Northwest Region, a member of the CBI President’s Committee, and a member of the advisory boards of Innovate UK (Energy Revolution) and Imperial College London (Energy Futures Laboratory). He is a Commissioner on the Covid Recovery Commission. Hitachi ABB Power Grids has recently gone through a rebrand and is now known as Hitachi Energy.

Sam Wheeler is Company Secretary to our UKNNL Board, having held the position as Deputy Company Secretary since 2021. Prior to joining UKNNL Sam was Company Secretary within the NHS, advising senior colleagues on governance matters throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and helping to develop the Green Plan for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

During Sam’s career she has provided both legal and governance advice across several industry sectors, after beginning her career as a corporate lawyer for PwC Legal. Sam has a breadth of knowledge of the public sector, with expertise in rail, nuclear and health.  Since qualifying as a chartered company secretary Sam has strengthened her knowledge of corporate governance and is keen to introduce it to the sector. Sam is both an Associate of Chartered Governance Institute and a qualified solicitor.

Dr Neil Smart joined UKNNL as Non-Executive Director in 2025. He Chairs both the Environment, Health, Safety and Security Committee and the Technical Advisory Board.

With over three decades of experience in the nuclear sector, Neil brings exceptional technical expertise and a proven track record in driving innovation. His career spans leadership roles at several prominent organisations, including Head of Technical Assurance, Chief Scientist, and Head of Research and Development at Sellafield Ltd, Director of Research and Innovation at the Nuclear Innovation and Research Office, and Science Director at Radioactive Waste Management Ltd.

Throughout his career, Neil has demonstrated a commitment to advancing nuclear science and technology. As a named inventor on 15 patents in fields including radionuclide separation and radioactive waste management, and author of 30 peer-reviewed publications, he has made significant contributions to nuclear research and development. His expertise in technical assurance and programme delivery has been instrumental in shaping major nuclear initiatives across the UK.

Neil serves as the UK Representative on the European Nuclear Society Higher Scientific Council and is a visiting professor at the University of Manchester. He holds a BSc in Applied Chemistry, a PhD in Corrosion Science and an MSc in Technology Management, combining deep technical knowledge with strategic business acumen.

Rebecca became UKNNL's Chief Human Resources Officer in February 2025, bringing over 20 years of experience in strategic HR leadership across both public and private sectors.

As part of our Executive Team, she applies her broad expertise in organisational transformation and people strategies to drive UKNNL's ambition of being an employer of choice in the nuclear sector.

Having already led significant change programmes at UKNNL since joining in 2018, Rebecca has demonstrated excellence in modernising HR operations and strengthening industrial relations. During her time at Rolls-Royce, PA Consulting and BAE Systems, she built a strong track record in delivering complex transformation projects, including managing multi-million pound change initiatives and developing innovative people solutions across global operations.

As a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Rebecca brings valuable expertise in workforce effectiveness and strategic HR leadership. Her experience in unionised environments and track record of building collaborative relationships with Trade Unions has been particularly valuable in transforming UKNNL's employee relations landscape.

Outside of work Rebecca’s interests include travelling, music, reading and art.

Matt joined UKNNL in June 2018 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in April 2019. He joined us from BAE Systems where he had spent the previous 16 years in a wide variety of roles, leaving his position as Finance Director for the Dreadnought Submarine Programme to join UKNNL.

Matt worked across multiple businesses within BAE Systems where he developed a deep understanding of financial management, corporate governance and information management and technology.

Matt is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and sits as a member of the CIMA Benevolent Fund. Outside work, he is a qualified rugby league coach with Chorley Panthers.

Iain joined UKNNL’s board in October 2019, having previously served as Chief Financial Officer of WYG plc, an international consulting, engineering and project management business. Prior to that, Iain was Finance Director for Amec Foster Wheeler’s Clean Energy business, and before that he held various finance director positions in Westinghouse Electric Company, a global nuclear technology provider, including two periods spent working in the United States.

Iain started his career with Coopers & Lybrand where he qualified as an ACA before moving into corporate finance to work on mergers and acquisitions. He moved into industry in 1996 and now has over 20 years’ financial leadership experience in international consulting and engineering businesses, with a particular specialism in the international energy sector.

In addition to his non-executive director role, Iain chairs our Audit Committee.

Since 2017 Ann has been a Council Member and Trustee of leading international affairs think tank Chatham House, where she held the interim Chair post of the NomCo.

Ann has a wealth of experience, serving on the Audit and Risk Committee for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) between 2011-2019 before becoming a non-executive director the following year. She was also Council Member for the British Institute of Energy Economics, appointed as Vice Chair and Chair between 2006-2007.

In her executive career, Ann was Executive Head of HR for the De Beers Group between 2017 and 2021, leading the people transformation of the global business through Covid-19. She served on the RemCo of Element 6, a synthetic diamond, cubic boron nitride producer (a joint venture of the DeBeers Group) and prior to this, worked for Rolls Royce as Director International from 2013-2017. 

Ann is currently on the board and ARAC of Envipco, a reverse vending machine manufacturer in the Netherlands which collects bottles and cans, repaying the deposit to the customer to encourage recycling to promote sustainability. Recently, she was elected to the Business Committee of the General Council of the University of Edinburgh, where she went to University.

Edward joined UK Government Investments (UKGI) in 2015 and has worked on both corporate finance and corporate governance projects.

Prior to joining UKGI, Edward worked as a lawyer. He trained with the Scottish Government before moving into private practice first in Scotland and then London, specialising in project and asset finance. Edward combined work and study to complete a Masters in global energy and climate policy, and further augmented his sectoral experience with secondments to Network Rail, ING and UK Export Finance.

Edward undertook a two-year secondment with the Cabinet Office, where he first led on business, energy and environmental policy coordination in the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat, working closely with HM Treasury and No.10. Edward then led a team preparing for the UK's exit from the EU, before being asked to help establish and lead a team within the COVID Taskforce.