Insights from leaders in nuclear energy: In conversation with President Rumina Velshi

President and CEO Rumina Velshi speaking candidly to NEA staff assembled at their Paris headquarters on January 17, 2020.

A changing nuclear world demands new perspectives and creative responses. That’s the main message gleaned from the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in its Insights from Leaders in Nuclear Energy, featuring the CNSC’s President and Chief Executive Officer Rumina Velshi.

As an active contributor to the NEA, President Velshi visited the Agency in Paris to attend briefings on key programs and activities. She sat down with NEA Director-General William D. Magwood IV in January 2020 and had an open discussion about issues related to leadership in today’s nuclear energy sector.

Speaking candidly, President Velshi outlined her thoughts as a leader in today’s ever-changing nuclear energy sector. The far-ranging discussion delved deeply into her perspectives as the head of an increasingly visible science-based regulatory body, the importance of regulatory safety culture and her ambitious roadmap for achieving gender balance in the workforce.

President and CEO Rumina Velshi in discussion with William (Bill) Magwood, Director-General of the NEA in January 2020.

In addition, President Velshi discussed the important aspects of her leadership in the context of a rapidly evolving nuclear industry. She explained how the CNSC is ready for innovation, which means having a flexible, yet robust, regulatory framework that can be adapted to a changing operating environment and evolving workforce needs. She also shared her views on the enthusiasm the industry is seeing for the future of small modular reactors and how the CNSC is ready to regulate their safe deployment.

She concluded the interview with her thoughts on how greater diversity in the STEM workforce provides significant benefits by addressing skills shortages, increasing innovation and capacity, and providing a greater return on human capital investments.

Read the full interview (PDF, 19 pages, 4.8 MB)