Christopher Leichtweis, the president and CEO of Idaho Falls-based North Wind Group, plans to leave the company by the end of the year, the company announced Tuesday.
Leichtweis, who has led the Department of Energy contractor since 2013, will remain on through Dec. 31, “to ensure a smooth and orderly transition,” North Wind said in a press release. “We have built a great plan, with a great team and we have a sustainable business model, it’s time for me to step down to let others step up,” Leichtweis said.
Before joining North Wind, Leichtweis was a senior vice president at Perma-Fix Environmental Services and he has also worked at Bechtel, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The company recently shared the news of the CEO’s departure with employees and the board of directors is actively engaged in succession planning efforts, according to the release.
The CIRI Development Corporation, doing business as North Wind Group, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cook Inlet Region with a workforce of about 2,000 people with revenues approaching $600 million, according to the release.
“The CDC Board is immensely proud of what NWG [North Wind Group] has accomplished, together and as individuals, entrepreneurs, leaders of the industry and servants to CIRI Shareholders and Descendants,” said board chair Sophie Minich in the release.
“This was a difficult decision, but I am excited to spend more quality time with my family,” said Leichtweis in the release.
North Wind and its affiliates are currently the prime environmental contractor at the DOE’s Energy Technology Engineering Center within the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California and the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings site in Utah.
