EDF executive Jacques Regaldo will assume the chairmanship of the World Association of Nuclear Operators in March, the organization announced Wednesday.
He was elected to replace outgoing Chairman Laurent Stricker, who has held the position since 2009.
“I am honored to have been elected chairman of the World Association of Nuclear Operators. … As chairman, one of my first priorities will be the implementation of the decisions taken at WANO’s 2011 [biennial general meeting] in Shenzhen. The nuclear community is only as strong as its weakest links, and it is only by working together, with a common discipline and unfailing commitment of each and every one of us in implementing our decisions and our plans for improvement, that we will be able to achieve long-lasting, far-reaching progress,” Regaldo said in a WANO release.
Regaldo has worked in a variety of positions over 32 years at EDF and is currently the French utility's operating senior vice president for the generation and engineering division. He also serves on the board of Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG).
Formed in 1989, WANO 's membership includes companies that operate 440 reactors in more than 30 countries. The organization facilitates the exchange of safety knowledge and operating experience among the world's nuclear plant operators.