Bud Albright, who chairs the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council, will step in as interim president and CEO of the organization following the Dec. 29 death of David Blee.
The Nuclear Industry Council said Monday that the board of directors selected Albright, an undersecretary of energy for former President George W. Bush, as interim leader pending a search for a permanent successor to Blee.
Albright, chairman of NIC since last year, was energy undersecretary under the late Samuel Bodman, and has also served as staff director for the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee. He is also CEO of Albright Strategies, a Washington, D.C. area consulting firm. Other private industry posts held by Albright include being a principal at Ogilvy Government Relations from 2014 to 2017 and senior vice president of policy and government affairs for Center Point Energy from 2010 to 2014.
Blee, 66, died unexpectedly in a Kentucky hospital following an extreme adverse reaction to medications he was taking for a cold. Blee led the Nuclear Industry Council since its inception in 2004 as the U.S. Transport Council. The nuclear advocacy group has more than 80 members, including utilities, engineering and construction companies, technology firms, and suppliers.
Before NIC Blee held many positions at the Department of Energy, including principal deputy assistant secretary of energy and director of public affairs, according to an online biography. He was also chief of staff for now-retired U.S. Congressman Connie Mack III (R-Fla.), who served in first the House of Representatives and later the Senate
The board is starting a search for a new executive leader “to continue building on the legacy of advancing the U.S. nuclear industry through the organization that David Blee created and grew,” NIC said in its press release.
