Entergy Nuclear announces senior leadership changes

11/03/2022

Kimberly Cook-Nelson named executive vice president and chief nuclear officer; other nuclear senior leadership advancements featured

JACKSON, Miss. – Entergy has announced Kimberly Cook-Nelson as the executive vice president and chief nuclear officer based in Jackson, Mississippi, the headquarters of nuclear operations. Chris Bakken, former CNO, moves into a new position as executive vice president of Entergy infrastructure. In this role he will have oversight for Entergy's nuclear and non-nuclear generation, which encompasses 24,000 megawatts of generating capacity.

"These leadership moves are consistent with our succession planning and methods of cultivating talent as a premier utility and nuclear fleet,” said Bakken. “We have a solid foundation of leaders taking on additional responsibilities with extensive experience in the nuclear power industry. I'm pleased to be part of the collaborative effort among our team as we strive to achieve excellence and produce clean, carbon-free nuclear energy.”

Bakken added, “Kimberly's strong customer focus, teamwork, technical knowledge and robust communications skills will bode her well in this new role. Her extensive knowledge of operations, engineering, strategic approaches and leadership skills will help continue building on our commitment to achieving excellence.”

Cook-Nelson joined Entergy in 1996 as the general manager of plant operations at Waterford 3 Steam Electric Station. She has held various leadership positions in engineering, maintenance, operations, continuous improvement and nuclear safety, as well as leading the corporate organization. Recently, she has served as the senior vice president, nuclear corporate services and was the chief operating officer, overseeing Arkansas Nuclear One, River Bend Station and Palisades Power Plant.

Cook-Nelson holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, master's in engineering management and an MBA from the University of New Orleans. She earned her senior reactor operator license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for Waterford 3.

In other moves, John Dinelli is the nuclear chief operating officer and has been serving as vice president, nuclear independent oversight. He has overall responsibility for the nuclear plants Arkansas Nuclear One, Grand Gulf, River Bend and Waterford 3. Previously, Dinelli has held several senior leadership assignments, including site vice president at ANO and 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 from IPEC and held several roles in the operations department, then moved to the general plant manager. Dinelli has a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Manhattan College.

Bill Maguire is named senior vice president, nuclear corporate services. He has overall responsibility for the nuclear fleet’s corporate organizations, as well as reviewing future strategic needs such as subsequent license extensions and advanced reactor designs. Maguire most recently worked as chief operating officer. Maguire has served in leadership roles at several Entergy plants, including safety assurance director, general manager, vice president of operations support, and site vice president at River Bend Station. He also worked for two years with Entergy's distribution operations in New Orleans.

Maguire earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University and an MBA from Syracuse University. He has a senior reactor operator license from Limerick Generating Station in Pennsylvania.

About Entergy

Entergy, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, powers life for 3 million customers through its operating companies across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy is creating a cleaner, more resilient energy future for everyone with our diverse power generation portfolio, including increasingly carbon-free energy sources. With roots in the Gulf South region for more than a century, Entergy is a recognized leader in corporate citizenship, delivering more than $100 million in economic benefits to local communities through philanthropy and advocacy efforts annually over the last several years. Our approximately 12,000 employees are dedicated to powering life today and for future generations. Learn more at entergy-nuclear.com and follow @EntergyNuclear on Twitter. #WePowerLife