The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has appointed Les Philpott, deputy Chief Executive, as an interim CEO from 1 March 2015. ONR will start recruiting for a permanent successor shortly.
The current Chief Executive, John Jenkins, announced that he is leaving the post a year after having successfully set up the ONR as a public corporation. ONR was previously an internal agency of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and John was recruited by HSE in June 2012 to lead the project to create ONR as a stand‑alone independent nuclear regulator.
During his leadership, ONR was commended by the International Atomic Energy Agency in its 2013 peer review, and November 2014 follow up mission.
John Jenkins said: "I am very honoured to have had the privilege of leading ONR through its period of maximum change, culminating in its becoming a Public Corporation. After nearly a year of stability I am happy to be handing over the running of the organisation and to be seeking new challenges. My thanks go to the ONR Board, my colleagues, and most of all to the staff for their dedicated support.”
Notes for editors
The Office for Nuclear Regulation is a public corporation. Its mission is to provide efficient and effective regulation of the nuclear industry, holding it to account on behalf of the public. ONR independently regulates nuclear safety and security at 37 nuclear licensed sites in the UK. It also regulates the transportation of radioactive materials and ensures that safeguards obligations for the UK are met. ONR also oversees the decommissioning of nuclear sites and cooperates with international regulators on safety and security issues of common concern, including associated research.
Les Philpott is already an Executive member of the ONR Board. He is currently the Deputy Chief Executive of ONR, supporting the CEO in leading ONR. Les has wide experience in public management and his previous career included senior management posts in central government. He is a chartered accountant (public finance).