PRESENTERS

STEPHEN COATES
X Energy



Stephen Coates has over 30 years of experience in the civil nuclear industry in both the UK and internationally. He has experience on operational utilities and new build projects. He has a strong operations background and has held senior positions on NPP leadership team including Operations Manager and Plant Manager at Dungeness NPP in the UK.

Prior to joining X Energy he worked in the UAE as Nuclear Oversight Director at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant at which he was part of the leadership team that took the first reactor in the Arab world through the final stages of construction and commissioning and into commercial operation. In X Energy he is the UK head of operational support and uses his extensive knowledge and experience gained to ensure that X Energy has a strong nuclear safety culture and appetite for risk reduction.

PHIL VAUGHAN
The Nuclear Institute



Philip Vaughan is a fellow of both the NI and the I.Mech.E. He began his career in the chemical industry but most of it since has been in the nuclear and aerospace industries.

He first became involved with the nuclear industry in the design, manufacture and installation of the internal thermal shield of the AGR at Hartlepool. Many years and many nuclear plant later he became Nuclear Business Director for Darchem Engineering. In that role he developed and implemented a strategy for Darchem to become a leading manufacturer for the UK nuclear industry with significant contracts for Hinkley Point C and Sellafield.

With his broad engagement with the Nuclear Industry he has benefited from working with companies all over the world on numerous projects and with many different reactor technologies. Allied with his design, manufacturing and installation background it gives him a particular view of the Nuclear Industry.

During lockdown he took up writing and has published two novels featuring ‘The Hairdresser and the Engineer’.

GRANT MILWAIN
EDF



Grant Milwain has over 20 years of experience in the civil nuclear industry in the UK at Hartlepool power station. He has experience in engineering focusing on the equipment reliability of various Fuel Route areas. His current role is Fuel Route Group Head, leading a team of engineers focusing on the availability and reliability of the Fuel Route in support of the Hartlepool generation plans. His team are also responsible for the in service inspection, measurement and sampling of the reactor core.

He has been supporting the Station Director with the Government aspiration to site an Advanced Modular Reactor at Hartlepool, liaising DESNZ, Great British Nuclear as well as nuclear vendors including X-Energy, JAEA and Community Nuclear Power.

Prior to joining EDF, he worked in the Petro-Chemical industry on Teesside with ICI and DuPont.

JANE REED
Hartlepool Sixth Form College



Jane became Campus Principal in 2021 following almost 10 years at Sunderland College where she drove forward creative, digital and cultural industries as a strategically important cross-cutting sector as Curriculum Director of Digital, Creative and Business.

With over 25 years’ experience in academic and technical further and higher education, Jane initially trained in Classical Music at the Royal Northern College of Music and is a graduate of Northumbria University. She has worked with the Department for Education and a number of cultural partnership boards and is Chair of Education Partnership North East’s Community Engagement Group which actively contributes to community cohesion, local productivity and sustainable growth.

TONI RHODES
Hartlepool Sixth Form College



Toni joined Education Partnership North East as Principal of Sunderland College in 2021 before progressing to Deputy Chief Executive. During her tenure, Toni has played a crucial role as part of EPNE’s leadership team, in the college group receiving an Ofsted ‘Good’ rating in 2022 and subsequently becoming the North East’s top performing college group for student achievement in 2024.

With over 15 years-experience of working in education, Toni has held several senior positions at Ofsted outstanding colleges.

Ben Houchen
Tees Valley Mayor



Ben Houchen qualified as a solicitor in 2009 and practised corporate law, commercial law and commercial litigation for six years before running his own business. He was UK & European CEO of an international sportswear company. He was also leader of the Conservative Group on Stockton Borough Council from 2014 to 2017.

He was elected as the first Mayor of the Tees Valley in 2017 and was re-elected in 2021 with 73% of the vote. He currently continues to serve as the elected Mayor.

In his first term, Ben successfully delivered his manifesto pledge to save Teesside Airport from closure and is continuing to deliver the 10-year Rescue Plan for the airport.

He holds a number of other roles, including as Vice Chairman of Transport for the North which is a sub-national statutory body with responsibility for improving transport and transport infrastructure across the North. He was also responsible for establishing the first Mayoral Development Corporation (South Tees Development Corporation - Teesworks) outside of London, second only to the Olympic Park – which was set up for the 2012 Olympics. The Development Corporation is responsible for the regeneration of the largest brownfield site in western Europe, which has attracted billions of pounds in foreign direct investment and is creating thousands of manufacturing jobs in industries like offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon, capture and storage.

He is currently a commissioner on the UK Hydrogen Policy Commission and he is also a Director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, which promotes the need to level up the country by closing the North South divide by spreading opportunity and wealth more evenly across the country.