John Kotek, one of the federal government’s top-ranking nuclear energy experts, joined the Nuclear Energy Institute as vice president for policy development and public affairs in January. At the same time, Beverly Marshall, NEI’s acting vice president for governmental affairs for the past four months, was promoted to the position on a permanent basis.
NEI announced the changes to its leadership team as it implements a restructuring begun last August to integrate its government relations, policy and communications disciplines within a new external affairs division.
Kotek is responsible for providing policy and public affairs leadership on financial, economic, tax, electricity market and environmental issues related to the nuclear energy industry. He served as acting assistant secretary in the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy since July 2015. He had been appointed principal deputy assistant secretary in DOE’s nuclear energy office in January 2015.
“This is an exciting time to re-enter the commercial sector and join the NEI team,” Kotek said. “This is a particularly important time to advance solutions that preserve existing nuclear power plants and galvanize resources to commercialize the advanced technologies that will cement nuclear energy’s beneficial role for generations to come.”
Prior to his appointment as principal deputy assistant secretary, Kotek was the managing partner of the Boise, Idaho, office of Gallatin Public Affairs, a public affairs and strategic communications consulting company. From 2003-2006, Kotek was deputy manager of DOE’s Idaho Operations Office. Before joining DOE in July 2003, he worked for Argonne National Laboratory as the Generation IV and nuclear-hydrogen programs manager.
Kotek succeeds NEI Vice President Revis James, who is moving to the United Kingdom in February.
