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News Release > Entergy Nuclear Announces Leadership Moves
Entergy Nuclear Announces Leadership Moves
01/12/2022
ANO Site VP Moves to Entergy Fleet Role, Local Leaders Promoted
JACKSON, Mississippi – Entergy Corporation has announced senior leadership moves that support the fleet's succession plans and reinforce its bench strength for the company’s nuclear operations based in Jackson, Mississippi.
As of January, John Dinelli, currently the Arkansas Nuclear One site vice president, is assuming the role of vice president, nuclear independent oversight for Entergy Nuclear, reporting to Chief Nuclear Officer Chris Bakken.
ANO General Plant Manager Joe Sullivan has been promoted to site vice president, reporting to Entergy Nuclear Chief Operating Officer Kimberly Cook. Doug Pehrson, currently the senior manager, maintenance at ANO, has been elevated to general manager, plant operations, reporting to Sullivan.
"These moves are important parts of our senior leadership development strategies," Bakken said. "I am pleased that we have capable leaders in-house who can lead, inspire, earn results and guide us to premier utility performance. Congratulations to these nuclear professionals."
"I want to congratulate John on his new role leading the nuclear oversight team," Cook-Nelson said. "We appreciate his leadership and results at ANO. NIOS is an important team and a key player as we strive to become the premier utility.
"Congratulations to Joe for moving to site vice president," Cook-Nelson added. "Joe's strong leadership abilities and team approach have helped earn him this opportunity to lead the ANO team to continued success. I am also happy for Doug as he takes on the general manager role after a long career at ANO. ANO is an important and necessary plant in our fleet and for our company.”
Since joining Entergy, Dinelli has held several senior leadership assignments, including site vice president at Waterford 3. He has more than 30 years of experience in the nuclear industry. He started with the company at Indian Point Energy Center as a college intern, then was hired as a shift technical advisor in operations. In 1996, he received his senior reactor operator’s license and held several roles in the operations department, then moved to general plant manager. Dinelli has a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Manhattan College.
Sullivan has held senior leadership roles, including the general manager, fleet operations at Echelon and the general manager, plant operations, at Cooper Nuclear Station. Prior to coming to Entergy, Sullivan served in various positions of increasing responsibility at three nuclear sites in the northeast. He was also an U.S. NRC license examiner and inspector in Region 1 and was an on-shift senior reactor operator at Calvert Cliffs and Salem generating stations. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.
As ANO's senior manager of maintenance, Pehrson is responsible for overall site maintenance activities for both Unit 1 and 2. Prior to this role, he served as senior operations manager. He has more than 30 years of experience in the nuclear industry and is a non-licensed operator at ANO. Throughout his career, Pehrson held several positions in operations including reactor operator, shift technical advisor, control room supervisor, shift manager and Unit 1 operations manager shift. In 2017, he assumed a rotational assignment at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, where he functioned as a senior plant evaluator in operations. Pehrson, who served in the U.S. Navy, holds a bachelor's in nuclear engineering technology from Thomas Edison State University. He holds a master's in business administration from LSU.
In another senior leadership move, current Senior VP Engineering and Technical Services John Elnitsky announced his intention to retire in May 2022. With that decision, current Nuclear Independent Oversight VP David Hahn is assuming a role reporting to Elnitsky to begin their transition. Hahn will assume the senior vice president assignment in early 2022.
Before joining Entergy, Rear Admiral Hahn retired from the U.S. Navy after a distinguished 35-year career. He served as Chief of Naval Research in Washington, DC. He held numerous assignments in the Navy, including the commanding officer of the USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720) and executive officer of the USS Springfield (SSN 761). He earned a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from George Mason University.
About Entergy Corporation
Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) is an integrated energy company engaged in electric power production, transmission and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale U.S. power generating fleets with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 8,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and more than 13,000 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and follow @Entergy on social media.
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