Michelle Reichert said she will retire May 20 as president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security, the outgoing management and operations contractor of the U.S.’ two main nuclear-weapon production plants.
Bill Tindal, Consolidated Nuclear Security’s (CNS) chief operating officer, will become the acting president and CEO, according to a note from CNS board member Peggy McCullough, general manager of Nuclear, Decommissioning, and Environment for Bechtel National, the lead partner on the CNS joint venture.
A longtime Y-12 hand who spent over 30 years in nuclear security, Reichert became president and CEO in August 2020 and relocated to Pantex in Amarillo, Texas, for what at the time figured to be a short ride in the big chair. The NNSA had by then decided not to pick up options on CNS’ contract and put the combined management and operations contract for the two sites back on the street. At the time, the contract was supposed to expire after Sept. 30, 2021.
But the recompete proved controversial, with two losing bidders crying foul over an alleged conflict of interest during the competition. Later, people familiar with the objections, one lodged by another Bechtel-led team, another by a venture led by BWX Technologies, said the alleged conflict centered around a former National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) cybersecurity official who left the agency and wound up in a prominent position on a subcontractor working for the winning Fluor-led bid.
As of Wednesday afternoon, CNS was still on the job and was to remain so until at least Sept. 30, under an extension the NNSA announced in March.
