TerraPower Announces Expansion of Executive Leadership Team
Three new roles and appointments support TerraPower's organizational growth and strategic vision
May 21, 2025 – TerraPower, a nuclear innovation company, announced today several new roles and appointments to its executive leadership team, reinforcing the company's commitment to scaling operations as their multiple technologies deploy globally and the organization continues to grow.
Chief Operating Officer
The company has promoted Eric Williams to serve as its first Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Eric currently serves as the Senior Vice President and Design Authority for the Natrium® technology. He has been with TerraPower for over 10 years and spent his entire career in the nuclear energy sector. Eric will oversee an extensive portfolio that includes the management of TerraPower's reactor projects, both the Natrium technology and the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor, as well as internal company functions that support the delivery of these technologies. Eric begins his new role this month.
"Eric's deep experience, proven leadership, and commitment to TerraPower's mission uniquely position him for this role as we move into the next phase of project execution. Eric has consistently demonstrated his ability to lead with integrity, foster collaboration, and deliver results, and I am pleased that he has agreed to take on this new role," said TerraPower President & CEO Chris Levesque.
Find Eric's full bio here.
Chief Financial Officer
After 12 transformational years with TerraPower, Marcia Burkey will retire from her current role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Steven Hellman will be the new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for TerraPower. Steven joins the company from UBS and will succeed Marcia in June 2025.
Steven comes to TerraPower with decades of international experience and leadership in the financial sector and brings deep expertise to his role leading TerraPower's financial team. Over the course of his 35-year career, he has a proven track record of advising companies in the global energy sector in a broad range of activities, including mergers & acquisitions, private and public debt and equity capital raising, restructuring, infrastructure development and project finance. In his role, he will lead the company's financial strategy and operations, including capital formation, commercial partnerships and support functions.
"We are thrilled to welcome Steven to the TerraPower team. Steven brings robust, global credentials that will be invaluable as we enter the next phase of growth," said Levesque. "His extensive experience as a strategic deal structurer will be vital as we continue to commercialize our technologies, and his leadership will strengthen our strategic capabilities as we scale our operations."
Find Steven's full bio here.
Company Advisor
As Marcia Burkey retires from her current role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, she will transition into a TerraPower advisory position. Marcia has played a pivotal role in guiding the company through significant growth, advancing both team capacity and operational complexity. She led the Company's capital raises including the largest private placement in the advanced nuclear industry and has overseen the management of substantial government grants. She will continue to have a strategic, and crucial, voice for TerraPower.
"To say that Marcia has been invaluable to TerraPower is an understatement. She has been instrumental at every stage of growth, touched every aspect of our business, and played a defining role in guiding our company's journey," said Levesque. "I am incredibly happy that she has agreed to serve in this advisory role into her retirement, and look forward to her counsel and insight as TerraPower continues to advance our mission."
Find Marcia's full bio here.
About TerraPower
TerraPower is a leading nuclear innovation company that strives to improve the world through nuclear energy and science. Since it was founded by Bill Gates and a group of like-minded visionaries, TerraPower has emerged as an incubator and developer of ideas and technologies that offer energy independence, environmental sustainability, medical advancement, and other cutting-edge opportunities. It accepts and tackles some of the world's most difficult challenges. Behind each of its innovations and programs, TerraPower actively works to bring together the strengths and experiences of the world's public and private sectors to answer pressing global needs. Learn more at terrapower.com.
Media Contacts
press@terrapower.com
Biographies
Eric Williams has 22 years of experience in engineering and has spent the last 15 years developing nuclear power plant designs, with an emphasis on safety. Before coming to TerraPower, Williams spent four years at B&W mPower developing a new small modular reactor design and worked to develop the safety of the plant and take the design through pre-licensing with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He also led the development of an Integrated Systems Test facility, which was a small-scale, electrically powered version of the nuclear power plant used to demonstrate the safety characteristics of the plant during simulated accident scenarios.
Earlier in his career, Williams worked on another new reactor design where he led a team that analyzed severe accidents. He developed the analysis and documentation needed to license the design and took the severe accident analysis through the licensing process.
Prior to working on new nuclear reactor designs, Williams worked on making the current fleet of nuclear power plants in the U.S. more efficient by upgrading their equipment and modernizing their systems. He worked directly with electric power utilities and visited operating nuclear power plants to understand the issues they faced and helped develop solutions.
Williams holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida, a Master of Business Administration from Lynchburg College and a Professional Engineer license.
Steven Hellman
Steven Hellman will join TerraPower as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed to that position in May 2025 after a 35-year career in investment banking, business and law. He has significant expertise and experience globally in mergers & acquisitions, public and private debt and equity capital raising, corporate restructuring and project and infrastructure finance.
Prior to joining TerraPower, Steven worked for over 25 years as an investment banker with Credit Suisse, UBS and other global investment banks in a variety of roles throughout the world. Most recently, Steven was Managing Director and Co-Head of UBS's Energy Transition investment banking group, where he advised TerraPower on financing strategy and capital raising (2021-2025) and McDermott International on its financial restructuring (2022-2024).
Steven began his investment banking career in 1997 as a member of Credit Suisse's Global Energy Group, working in New York, London and Moscow. He founded Credit Suisse's Energy Services investment banking practice and advised on some of the landmark transactions in the sector, including Halliburton's IPO/split-off of KBR, ABB’s sale of Lummus Global, Quanta Services’s acquisition of InfraSource and IPOs of Petrofac Ltd and EnergySolutions (a nuclear waste management and services company). From 2007-2010, Steven was Credit Suisse’s Regional CEO and Head of Client Coverage, Russia/CIS, based in Moscow, where he advised international and domestic companies in the Energy and other sectors. From 2016-2018, Steven served as Chief Restructuring of FESCO Transportation Group and, from 2017-2019, as a member of the Board of Directors of Lenta, Plc.
Prior to his career in investment banking, Steven was Executive Vice President and Head of Business Development for UniSite, Inc, a wireless tower collocation company. Steven began his career as a business and finance attorney at Latham & Watkins, where he advised on the financing of communications satellites and worked on the launch of DirecTV.
Steven holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Soviet Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Scholars Program.
Marcia Burkey
Before joining TerraPower as CFO, Marcia Burkey was the managing director at TeleSoft Partners, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that funds, incubates and helps build value in companies of various stages. She oversaw investment operations for a family of funds with commitments exceeding $625M including SBIC commitments. TeleSoft’s funds invest in communication, energy, internet and information technology companies.
Prior to her work at TeleSoft, Burkey was a senior vice president and partner of Bechtel Group, Inc. In her capacity as CFO of Bechtel Enterprises, she was responsible for leading the investment efforts along with financial planning and analysis, control, tax, treasury, and IT efforts. Additionally, Burkey assisted in capital raisings within Bechtel Enterprises and Bechtel Group, and served on the boards of UIC, Alterra and InterGen. She led the development and sale of investments in North America, Asia, South America and the Middle East. Burkey also served as the president of Bechtel’s NASD broker-dealer, Bechtel Financing Services, Inc.
Prior to her work at Bechtel, Burkey spent nine years at SBC Warburg (now UBS) in corporate and project finance positions. She was involved in project financings globally for SBC Warburg in New York, and directed the firm’s Latin America project finance business development efforts. In addition, she was responsible for corporate advisory and financing in multiple industries, including work with U.S. public utilities. While at SBC Warburg, Burkey assisted in raising debt and equity capital for U.S. electric, water and gas utilities in excess of $2.5B.
Burkey is currently a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC), providing guidance on the most pressing trade issues facing the U.S. civil nuclear sector. Burkey holds a Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude) and a Master of Arts from Columbia University.