Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
3/21/2014
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Commissioner William Magwood is leaving the NRC to serve as Director General of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency. Magwood will be taking over the position in September, but according to the NRC, he has not yet set a departure date due to previous commissioner commitments in the coming months he would like to fulfill before leaving the NRC. “It is a tremendous honor to have been the U.S. Government’s candidate for this position and to have been selected as the seventh Director General to lead the NEA since it was formed in 1958,” Magwood said in a statement this week. “I have especially appreciated the strong support and encouragement I received from senior officials of the Administration to take on this assignment. When I join the NEA in September, I will take with me the vital lessons I have learned from my time at the finest safety regulator in the world—the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. I look forward to sharing those lessons with the international community and to continuing my service to the public in a new venue.”
The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, established in 1958, is an international organization with 31 member countries that organizes cooperation between the nations in areas like nuclear safety, waste management, and technology. According to a NEA internal announcement, Magwood will report to the Secretary-General in order to “advance his strategic orientations in the area of nuclear energy whilst providing leadership and direction to leverage the NEA’s comparative advantage, and increase its visibility and relevance both within the OECD/NEA area and beyond.” His responsibilities would also include “promoting horizontal work and fostering coordination between the NEA and other areas of the Organization as well as providing support for corporate priorities,” the announcement said.