Corporate Leadership
 

Jay Wileman

President & CEO

Jay Wileman is the President and CEO of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH). GEH is a world-leading provider of advanced reactors and nuclear services, with manufacturing, service and sales facilities around the globe. Jay is also responsible for managing the joint venture between the General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) and Hitachi Corp.

With more than 30 years’ experience, Jay has a wealth of international knowledge, having led many global teams to success across the energy spectrum. Prior to being named to his current position in 2015, Jay served as Senior Vice President, Nuclear Plant Projects and Chief Operating Officer upon his return to GEH in 2012. 

In 2009, Jay was appointed President and CEO of GE Energy Sub-Saharan Africa where he worked with customers to meet the continent’s needs in oil, natural gas, power generation, water, renewables and new grid modernization.

Since joining GE in 1994, Jay has held several senior leadership positions in various GE businesses, including energy, mining, rail and oil and gas in the U.S., Japan, Italy, Australia and South Africa. He began his career as a nuclear fuel engineer and commercial manager at Southern Nuclear.

Jay earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering from Mississippi State University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Jon Ball

Executive Vice President, Market Development Leader

Jon Ball is Executive Vice President, Market Development Leader for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, innovating the next generation of new nuclear technology

Jon has been a leader in the nuclear industry for 29 years and has a wide range of experience in P&L leadership, manufacturing, global operations, services and quality. His credibility, expertise and leadership continue to drive his passion for articulating the benefits of our advanced nuclear technology and the capability of our team.

Under Jon’s leadership as the Executive Vice President of Advanced Nuclear from 2015 to 2022, he led the development and commercial adoption of the BWRX-300, an industry-leading SMR technology with a critical role to play in the global energy transition. He also established a partnership with TerraPower to develop and deploy Natrium^TM, a sodium cooled fast reactor.  Prior to that Jon served as Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain, where he led more than 1,000 employees worldwide in manufacturing and logistics. He has also spent several years in Services where he led GEH’s Field Services and Performance Services businesses and held several positions in GE’s nuclear fuels business, including roles as Global Supply Chain Leader, Quality Manager and Lab Manager.

Jon is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt who has also completed the MIT Reactor Technology Course for Utility Executives. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University and a Ph.D. in Analytical and Computational Chemistry from Penn State University. 

Sean Sexstone

Executive Vice President, Advanced Nuclear

Sean Sexstone is the Executive Vice President, Advanced Nuclear for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. In this role, Sean leads the development and project delivery of the advanced nuclear business. He’s responsible for furthering the design progress of the BWRX-300 and Natrium projects, supporting customers, meeting product cost targets to ensure market competitiveness and developing key partnerships for global SMR deployment.

Sean joined GEH February 2022 from Aecon, where he was responsible for leading Aecon’s nuclear group with a focus on life extension projects, plant life maintenance projects, decommissioning and nuclear fabrication. While at Aecon, he led large capital projects including the refurbishment at Bruce Power and at OPG’s Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. Prior to Aecon, Sean gained EPC execution experience with CB&I/McDermott as well as utility experience with Entergy, focusing on project management, supply chain and vendor oversight.

Sean started his career with GE and eventually worked with GEH in several roles, including running multiple regions as the Vice President of Sales. Sean has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University, and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University. 

Susan Korn

Executive Vice President, Services

Susan Korn is Executive Vice President, Services, for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. In this role, Susan leads the company's services line which includes field services and engineering services.   

Susan joined GEH in 2022 from Constellation Energy Group (previously Exelon) where she spent 19 years in various nuclear leadership roles. She served most recently as the Vice President of Nuclear Project Management and before that as Director of Strategic Projects.

Before joining Exelon, she spent more than 15 years in the engineering consulting business primarily serving the nuclear power industry.

She currently serves on the Executive Committee for Women in Nuclear Global and holds a bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Mike Chilton

Executive Vice President, Fuels

Mike Chilton is Executive Vice President, Fuels. He joined GE in 2022 from Pegasus-Global Holdings, where he served as President and CEO. Before that, he was the Senior Vice President of Global Engineering and Construction at The AES Corporation, helping to set strategy, allocate capital, develop business opportunities, and grow through the execution of over $8 billion of complex, global power projects. Mike began his career with Kerr McGee Nuclear, and moved to GE in 1990, where he spent eight years in various roles, including Managing Director of Uranium Operations, Engineering Manager, and also led the start-up of a uranium conversion facility. He spent eight years in GE Power as the Quality Leader of Power Systems in Japan, the Director of Contractual Services in Singapore, the Quality Leader of GE Energy Services in Atlanta, and the leader of a Controls acquisition in China.

Mike has a JD from Purdue Global, an MBA from University of Arkansas, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri - Rolla. He holds two nuclear-related patents and has served on multiple boards.