June 23, 2014

Bechtel Exec Jim Allen Retiring, Won’t Serve as Y-12/Pantex COO

By ExchangeMonitor

Bechtel executive Jim Allen, who was bid to be the chief operating officer for Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security, is retiring and will not assume his role as the No. 2 official for the new contractor, CNS spokesman Jason Bohne has confirmed. Bohne said a “family medical situation” is preventing Allen from taking the position, and he will be replaced by Bechtel executive Morgan Smith, who like Allen helped Bechtel consolidate the Bettis and Knolls atomic power laboratories. CNS is set to take over the Y-12/Pantex contract July 1, and an announcement about Allen’s departure is expected today. “There is a family medical situation and this is the best thing for Jim and we understand and respect his priority there,” Bohne said.

Smith most recently served as Bechtel’s top official at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory after also heading up Knolls before management of the sites was consolidated. Bohne said Smith’s experience at Bettis and Knolls would serve him well helping merge the Y-12/Pantex contracts. “He was one of the architects of merging the two labs so you look at his experience in developing common human resources and operating systems, and he did that in facilities that match the scale and complexity of what we’re doing at Pantex and Y-12,” Bohne said. Bohne said a determination by the National Nuclear Security Administration about whether CNS will be penalized for Allen’s departure has not been made. “That’s not anybody’s focus right now,” Bohne said. “We’re all getting ready for successful transition and managing the sites after July 1.”

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