Currently President and CEO of Orano USA, Jean-Luc Palayer has held several senior positions since graduating from Mines Saint-Étienne in 1998. We take a look back at the brilliant international career of this Seoul native, now based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
What was your career path leading up to your appointment as President and CEO of Orano USA?
After obtaining my engineering degree, I joined COGEMA (formerly Areva) in Seoul, South Korea. I was responsible for sales in the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Returning to Paris in 2002, I served as Business Development Manager for Areva for the Asia region. Following the signing of a significant contract with ten Japanese utilities, the group offered me an expatriate assignment in 2007: either to Japan to join the ATMEA subsidiary with Mitsubishi, or to the United States to develop the commercial strategy for a new front-end activity.
My family and I opted for Washington DC. The first few years were magical as we discovered an extraordinary country and a new culture. Professionally, I was responsible not only for securing long-term contracts with our American clients, but also for negotiating a $2 billion loan guarantee with the U.S. Department of Energy, which we successfully obtained! I also worked on the creation of the American subsidiary Areva Enrichment Services.
In 2012, I joined the solar division of the Areva group as Vice President of Operations in Mountain View, California. I was responsible for defining the purchasing strategy, qualifying new suppliers, and building three solar thermal power plants in Australia, the United States (Arizona), and India (Rajasthan). This last project was the most significant due to its size (125 MW) and its complexity from a Supply Chain and execution perspective. It was a real management challenge for me, involving teams and projects across three continents.
In addition to my duties, I took over the management of Areva Solar India in 2013. We produced our first kWh for the Indian unit during the first quarter of 2015. I am proud to have contributed to this remarkable project with the delivery of the first solar thermal power plant to the State of Rajasthan, which continues to supply the region with low-carbon energy with an annual production of 280 GWh!
In April 2015, I was appointed Vice President of Supply Chain for the TN Business Unit, Areva’s nuclear logistics branch. Along with my teams, we had to qualify new dry storage system suppliers in the United States, France, Italy, China, and South Korea. In parallel, I contributed significantly to the definition and implementation of a plan to internalize the manufacturing of our strategic components in the United States, notably with the construction of two production plants in North Carolina.
In August 2018, I was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of TN Americas, the U.S. subsidiary of Orano’s nuclear logistics branch (note: Orano was created in 2017 following the split of Areva: Orano is in charge of nuclear fuel cycle management and Framatome handles Reactor activities).
I was responsible for project management, supervision of spent fuel unloading campaigns at nuclear power plants, and the management of our seven U.S. sites: the headquarters in Maryland, our three production plants in North Carolina, our training center in South Carolina, our cylinder wash facility in Kentucky, and our spent fuel storage facility in Florida. One of my missions was to improve the production capacity of our American plants, great challenges that I successfully managed until November 2023.
In which sector do you operate now and what are your main missions?
Orano is a French group recognized internationally across the entire nuclear fuel cycle, from extraction to the recycling of spent fuel, as well as associated services to meet the needs of our utility customers worldwide. With 17,000 employees globally—including 13,500 in France—and a turnover of 4.2 billion euros, the group is committed daily to meeting global energy challenges and providing low-carbon, competitive electricity. Furthermore, we are exploring new activities that will enrich the range of services we offer our clients, particularly in the fields of health (cancer treatment) and resource economy (battery recycling).
My main missions are:
- To define and execute Orano’s commercial and industrial strategy in the United States as approved by our Executive Committee;
- To represent the group before U.S. administrations, including the DOE (Department of Energy), the DOC (Department of Commerce), the DOS (Department of State), the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), as well as strategic clients and partners;
- To propose and implement industrial partnerships for new activities;
- To promote the image of the Orano group, not only to institutions but also to the general public, including American students.
What memories do you have of your time at Mines Saint-Étienne?
I have very fond memories of my time at Mines Saint-Étienne. There was an excellent atmosphere not only at the School but also in the student residence. The courses were varied and of high quality, as were the associations. The School also encouraged us to go abroad. I did my 2nd and 3rd year internships in South Korea and participated in two study trips, the first to Ireland and the second to Tunisia. It was during these stays abroad that I developed the desire for an international professional career.
Furthermore, I was the student communication correspondent for the School and had the chance to regularly interact with the Director of Communication and the Director of the School, Philippe Hirtzman, a visionary person and an excellent communicator. I remember a trip I organized in 1999 to Seoul to welcome Mr. Hirtzman and Mr. Han, my finite element professor, on the occasion of the partnership between EMSE and Seoul National University.
What skills acquired during your training are useful to you today in your new role?
- Nuclear engineering: it was during these courses that I realized I wanted to work in the nuclear industry and contribute to the development of this low-carbon energy. My dream at the time was to manufacture and supply fuel for breeder reactors after an excellent presentation by EDF on the Superphénix reactor. Although the Superphénix project was discontinued, I have since realized many dreams during my career at Orano.
- Statistics: I have applied this skill on numerous occasions in the professional world, not only for Six Sigma initiatives but also for risk management based on Monte Carlo modeling.
- Industrial risk management: in 1997, this was a new course and I hope it is still taught today. I remember it as a fascinating and very enriching course thanks to the teaching of our professor, who came from the professional world and was a specialist in Seveso risks. Today, I still hear the same historical references in some of my meetings.
Jean-Luc Palayer’s 5 tips for future students of Mines Saint-Étienne:
- Seize every opportunity to go abroad. The School offers various international programmes and now has an excellent network of partner universities worldwide.
- Join the associations that interest you. Not only will you build strong bonds with other members, but you will also have the opportunity to discover activity management, the first step before project and then business management.
- Communicate your successes and projects on social media. Your future recruiters will certainly look at your LinkedIn profile, and the content of your posts can make a difference. But be brief and incisive in your posts.
- Be yourself and do not try to fit into a mold. There are, of course, norms and standards to respect, especially in a company, but you will succeed by being yourself and not by trying to imitate a perfect model.
- Give it your all. What you learn and achieve through your projects, associations, and internships will allow you to differentiate yourself and find the ideal position in a company whose vision and values you share. And why not at Orano? We are recruiting for nearly 1,600 positions in 2023, Join us!
