First American Nuclear Announces Key Executive Appointments as Company Expands Leadership Team

Patrick Schweiger named Chief Technology Officer; George Malone named Chief Nuclear Program Officer; Rafael Paz named Chief Financial Officer 

INDIANAPOLIS, April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- First American Nuclear (FANCO), a nuclear power company and developer of fast-spectrum small modular reactors (SMRs) designed to deliver the most cost-effective utility-scale power in the world, today announced the appointments of reactor engineer Patrick Schweiger as Chief Technology Officer, George Malone as Chief Nuclear Program Officer, and Rafael Paz as Chief Financial Officer. These hires expand the company's executive team as it advances development of next-generation nuclear energy systems.

Patrick Schweiger joins FANCO as Chief Technology Officer with more than four decades of experience in advanced reactor development, nuclear engineering, and energy technology commercialization. He previously held senior engineering and leadership roles across the advanced energy sector, including serving as Chief Technology Officer at Oklo and Executive Vice President of Engineering at Fourth Power. Prior to that, Schweiger was the Chief Engineer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, leading the design of the SPARC tokamak and associated facilities. Earlier in his career, he served as Vice President and later Senior Vice President of Engineering at TerraPower, where he helped lead reactor design, safety, and licensing initiatives for advanced nuclear systems.  

George Malone has been appointed Chief Nuclear Program Officer. He brings three decades of experience in nuclear operations, engineering, licensing, and the delivery of advanced nuclear power projects. Malone previously held roles with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), where he served as an operations engineer and resident inspector, and worked in reactor training and engineering programs at Bechtel Bettis. He has also served in several leadership positions in the commercial sector, including Constellation Energy Corporation and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, supporting nuclear program development and engineering initiatives across the power generation industry, and advancing first-of-a-kind nuclear projects from concept through execution.

Rafael Paz joins the company as Chief Financial Officer. He brings over two decades of experience in corporate finance, capital markets, and strategic financial management across technology and infrastructure-focused businesses, including oil and gas, and advanced nuclear energy. Prior to FANCO, Paz held senior finance leadership roles at NuScale Power and bp, where he led capital markets activities, treasury operations, and strategic financial initiatives supporting large-scale energy projects, including the deployment of advanced modular reactors. 

"Patrick, George, and Rafael are three critical and impactful hires who bring close to one hundred years of combined experience working with many of the most innovative power producers in the world," said Mike Reinboth, Chief Executive Officer of First American Nuclear. "FANCO's executive leadership team already had a shared history of collaboration, and now together at FANCO is one of the most proven groups of leaders in advanced nuclear development, bringing together deep expertise in reactor engineering, program execution, and energy finance." 

The executives report to FANCO CEO, Mike Reinboth, with Schweiger and Malone working closely day-to-day with the company's president, Bill Stokes.

About First American Nuclear
First American Nuclear (FANCO) aims to be the first customer-centric nuclear energy company, focused on delivering clean, reliable, utility-scale power at a cost competitive with other existing sources. Because customers need power now, FANCO offers a Bridge PowerTM solution that bridges the gap to full nuclear energy delivery with minimal cost. The company comprises the country's top nuclear engineers and operators who are developing a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) unlike anything commercially available. The EAGL-1 fast reactor is the only U.S. reactor cooled by lead-bismuth, a liquid metal alloy whose chemical properties enable a safe, simple, and 100% factory fabricable design. EAGL-1 can operate in a closed-fuel cycle in which used fuel is continuously reprocessed and reused, eliminating 95% of long-lasting nuclear waste.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE First American Nuclear Co.