Staff Reports
NS&D Monitor
2/5/2016
Morgan Smith took the reins Monday as president and chief executive officer at Consolidated Nuclear Security, the government’s managing contractor at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants, and he promised the nearly 8,000 employees that he would be an advocate for their interests and would support them in every way possible to make them successful.
Smith succeeds Jim Haynes, who left CNS to return to Bechtel, where he’ll head the corporate human resources team. Smith has not yet named his successor as the contractor’s chief operating officer.
In an email message to employees, the CNS chief said he would provide them with a plan for the first 90 days of his tenure within the next week, and he also promised to announce organizational changes soon thereafter.
Smith noted this is the third time in his management career that he has taken over responsibility for a business at the first of February.
“For me, February has become a month of new beginnings in my professional life,” he told employees. “I am looking forward to working with you in my new role and I hope to get to know many more of you in the days ahead. We have much to do and I feel the weight of responsibility to lead the organization in the best manner possible as we execute our important mission work. I take comfort in knowing that I work with so many experts who understand this business and are as committed as I am to supporting our country.”
Smith said it’s his responsibility to see that employees have what they need to succeed. “To help me do this, I need to understand the details of the business and have a broad view of how things interrelate,” he said. “I’ve found that what works best for me is to interact with as many people as possible. These interactions lead to a shared vision of where we are going and how we will get there together. Given this, I ask for your patience and assistance. Please help me understand the many things I need to know to help position us for enduring success.”
He said employees will naturally want to know the new leader’s vision and “what makes this guy tick.”
Smith said his decision-making is based on two key tenets: “Do what is right for the country, and do what is right for employees.”
He added: “In my experience, if we do these two things well, we’ll be successful in our work and find fulfillment in our jobs. It’s also crucial that we work together, backing up each other to ensure accuracy and quality in everything we do, while keeping a strong focus on our individual areas of responsibility.”
Smith asked the workers at Y-12 and Pantex to be patient during the transition of leadership at CNS.
