These are the first selections under a new governance model that separates enterprise leadership from nuclear safety authority. Both roles were filled through independent, merit-based competitions supported by Korn Ferry.
Kyiv, 20 September 2026
Following separate independent, merit-based selection processes conducted between June and September 2026, the Supervisory Board of JSC NNEGC Energoatom nominated Yuriy Tkachuk as the winner of the selection for Chief Executive Officer and Pavlo Pavlyshyn as the winner of the selection for Chief Nuclear Officer. The two positions are new. Until now, a single executive held both overall management of the Company and ultimate responsibility for nuclear safety. Under Energoatom’s new governance model, those responsibilities are separated: the Chief Executive Officer is accountable for the enterprise, and the Chief Nuclear Officer holds independent professional authority over nuclear and radiation safety and over nuclear operations. This is standard practice at major nuclear operators internationally.
Yuriy Tkachuk currently leads Ukrgasvydobuvannya, Ukraine’s largest gas producer, and previously served as Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Ukrnafta, where he helped lead major corporate, operational, and financial transformation during wartime. Pavlo Pavlyshyn has more than 30 years in the nuclear industry, including ten years as Director General of Rivne Nuclear Power Plant.
Rumina Velshi, Chair of the Supervisory Board of Energoatom, said:
“One of Energoatom’s central problems has been governance. What Operation Midas exposed was not a technical failure — it was a failure of the systems that are supposed to control how this Company spends its money and chooses its people. This Supervisory Board exists to change that, and how the Company chooses its people is where that has to start. These two competitions were run at arm’s length from government, based on published criteria, and decided on evidence.
We have deliberately chosen two very different leaders. Yuriy Tkachuk will run the enterprise. Pavlo Pavlyshyn will hold the nuclear authority — and he will have the standing and the independence to stop anything that is not safe. This separation reflects established practice among the leading nuclear operators internationally. It is now how Energoatom will be built.”
Matthew Murray, Chair of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and Independent Member of the Supervisory Board, said:
“We conducted a transparent selection process that follows global best practice: an international search, objective testing and assessments, independent integrity reviews, structured voting, and evaluations made on the evidence. Yuriy Tkachuk and Pavlo Pavlyshyn bring deep, complementary experience, strong professional judgment, and the leadership skills needed to move Energoatom forward. The choice was not easy. Ukraine has real depth of industry leadership, and I thank everyone who came forward.”
Next steps
The final outcomes of the selections of both the CEO and CNO are subject to completion of the regulatory and corporate procedures required before formal appointments.
For the Chief Nuclear Officer, these include the issuance of an individual license required under Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory framework. MrPavlyshyn does not currently hold that license, and the background section below sets out the history and how the Supervisory Board examined it.
The Supervisory Board expects to complete the formal appointment process in the coming weeks, subject to applicable statutory, regulatory, and corporate procedures. Until the appointments take effect, the current interim management arrangements will remain in place to ensure continuity of executive leadership and nuclear operations.
The Supervisory Board is continuing the competitive selection of the remaining members of the Management Board.
PART TWO — BACKGROUND
1. Context: why Energoatom’s governance is being rebuilt
In 2025, investigations by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau, known publicly as Operation Midas, exposed a large-scale procurement kickback scheme centered on Energoatom. The consequences led to a comprehensive reset of the Company’s governance, including the constitution of the Supervisory Board.
That Supervisory Board’s mandate is to rebuild the institutional controls that failed: how Energoatom spends its money, how it awards contracts, and how it chooses the people who run it. Yuriy Tkachuk and Pavlo Pavlyshyn are the first two senior executives selected under that mandate, and the Supervisory Board has conducted them in a way that is transparent and accountable.
2. Why Energoatom has created a Chief Nuclear Officer
Historically, Energoatom combined overall management of the Company and senior responsibility for nuclear safety in a single leadership position. Under the Company’s new governance model, these responsibilities have been separated, on the basis that running a large and complex enterprise and exercising senior professional authority over nuclear safety require different expertise, experience and leadership.
The Chief Executive Officer retains overall accountability for the performance and development of the Company. The Chief Nuclear Officer exercises independent professional judgment on matters affecting nuclear and radiation safety, and leads the nuclear operating organization: fleet operations, engineering and technical policy, maintenance, asset integrity and operational performance.
A designated senior nuclear officer with independent authority is standard practice among major nuclear operators, including in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It is reflected in guidance from the international nuclear operating community. The model is designed to do two things at once: keep nuclear safety as the overriding priority, with a named executive empowered to act on it, and build the enterprise management capacity Energoatom needs to accelerate governance reform and long-term development.
3. How the selections were conducted
The Company is conducting a comprehensive competitive selection process for its new Management Board, covering seven positions. The process began with the Chief Executive Officer search; given the importance of nuclear safety, the Chief Nuclear Officer selection was run in parallel.
The international Chief Executive Officer search considered 78 potential candidates from Ukraine and international markets. Nine progressed to a comprehensive assessment, comprising structured executive interviews, a leadership assessment, a background and integrity review, and evaluation against a defined set of professional and leadership criteria. Finalists presented their strategic vision for Energoatom to the Supervisory Board before the final decision.
A parallel process was conducted for the newly established Chief Nuclear Officer position, with particular emphasis on nuclear safety leadership, operational performance, engineering and technical governance, independent professional judgment, and the ability to lead a large and complex nuclear operating organization.
Both searches were supported by Korn Ferry, which conducted candidate assessment and independent background and integrity review.
4. Yuriy Tkachuk — Chief Executive Officer
As Chief Executive Officer, Yuriy Tkachuk will have overall accountability for Energoatom’s strategy, performance, transformation, governance, financial sustainability, organizational development, and stakeholder relationships.
He currently leads Ukrgasvydobuvannya, Ukraine’s largest gas producer, and previously held senior positions at Ukrnafta, including Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. His experience combines leadership of large, strategically important energy businesses with corporate transformation, financial management, operational performance improvement and governance reform, including leading companies through wartime operational and financial challenges and engaging with government and international financial institutions.
5. Pavlo Pavlyshyn — Chief Nuclear Officer
As Chief Nuclear Officer, Pavlo Pavlyshyn will lead Energoatom’s nuclear operating organization, responsible for nuclear safety, fleet operations, engineering and technical policy, maintenance, asset integrity, and operational performance.
He has more than 30 years of nuclear industry experience, progressing from reactor operations and engineering to senior plant and enterprise leadership. From June 2012 to June 2022, he served as Director General of Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, with responsibility for four nuclear units with a total installed capacity of 2,880 MW and approximately 7,600 employees. During this tenure, from December 2019 to April 2020, he was appointed Acting President of Energoatom, temporarily assuming responsibility for the Company at the national level while continuing his broader career at Rivne NPP.
His experience spans reactor operations, nuclear and radiation safety, plant management, major safety improvement and modernization programs, lifetime extension, maintenance, physical protection, and nuclear personnel development. He holds a PhD in Engineering, is an Honored Power Engineer of Ukraine, and received the WANO Nuclear Excellence Award 2017.
6. Individual licensing, and the Supervisory Board’s review of Mr. Pavlyshyn’s record
The Chief Nuclear Officer position is subject to individual licensing under Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory framework. Under the applicable procedure, the Company applies for the relevant individual license following the appointment of a candidate to the position. The licensing decision is made by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU).
Mr. Pavlyshyn previously held the relevant individual nuclear license, which was revoked in 2022. The Supervisory Board examined the circumstances surrounding that revocation as part of its assessment of his candidacy. It concluded that the previous revocation was not determinative of his suitability for the CNO role. Under applicable legislation, the previous revocation does not preclude Mr. Pavlyshyn from reapplying for a license. We look forward to working constructively with SNRIU as Mr.Pavlyshyn proceeds through the applicable individual licensing process.
7. What the Supervisory Board expects of the new leadership team
Together with the other members of the Management Board still to be selected, the new leadership team will be responsible for maintaining nuclear safety and operational resilience during wartime while accelerating Energoatom’s institutional transformation.
The Supervisory Board expects the team to focus first on nuclear and radiation safety and wartime resilience; safe and reliable operation of the nuclear fleet and readiness for the winter season; strengthening transparency, accountability, integrity and corporate governance; and building the organizational and technical capability required for modernization, lifetime extension and the future development of Ukraine’s nuclear fleet.
These priorities reflect the Supervisory Board’s vision for Energoatom’s strategic direction for 2026–2030.
8. Remaining Management Board competitions
The searches for Chief Financial Officer, Chief Legal Officer, Chief People Officer and Chief Commercial Officer are at an advanced stage. The Supervisory Board also expects to launch shortly a competitive search for a General Inspector, who will sit on the Management Board and strengthen independent internal oversight of nuclear and radiation safety.
9. About Energoatom
JSC NNEGC Energoatom is Ukraine’s largest electricity producer and the operator of the country’s nuclear power plants. It is a backbone of the national energy system and economy. The Company continues to operate under exceptional wartime conditions.
