Dr Rebecca Weston, FREng, FInstP, FNucl, MBA

Rebecca leads the Warhead Group within the Defence Nuclear Organisation in the Ministry of Defence. She is the senior civil servant responsible for provision of the critical component of the nuclear deterrent for the UK. Closely coupled and integrated with the submarine programme, this comprises a complex and highly regulated portfolio ensuring supply of nuclear and non-nuclear materials, design and unique science test and evaluation capabilities, delivering the UK’s sovereign capability while working closely with international partners.

A number of major infrastructure programmes and projects are required to sustain the UK’s nuclear deterrent over the coming decades and the Warhead Group is responsible for ensuring their delivery through the Atomic Weapons Establishment and other industry, academic and delivery organisations.

Prior to joining the Ministry of Defence, Rebecca was the Chief Operating Officer for Sellafield Limited, accountable for directing the nuclear operations of the Sellafield site and leading several major nuclear programmes in a complex highly regulated and unionised environment. These major programmes included retrieval activities from first generation UK nuclear activities, as well as the wider nuclear material management and reprocessing, treatment and storage, decommissioning and remediation for past and present UK programmes. She also led the site’s operational response to COVID-19.

Her role included innovation, research and development for the Sellafield mission. Rebecca is passionate about deploying and embedding innovation and holds wider roles within the UK involving cross-government, industry and academia collaborations, such as realising the opportunities of smart machines across the economy through robotics and artificial intelligence.

Rebecca has over 20 years' experience in the UK civil nuclear sector and has worked across the fuel cycle nationally and internationally, particularly in the US, Japan and France. She has held a number of senior positions across Commercial, Technical, Programme and Project Delivery and Operations; through the transition of the UK nuclear industry from government ownership to a management and operations contracting model before taking a key leadership role in the return of Sellafield Limited to public ownership.

Rebecca has supported education and personal and professional development throughout her career and is passionate about inclusivity and developing others. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK and has a degree in Physics and an MBA from Oxford University, as well as an engineering doctorate. She is a regular speaker at national and international nuclear events and conferences. She is recognised as an international expert across nuclear fuel cycle activities by the International Atomic Energy Agency and has previously sat on their Scientific Advisory Committee on Nuclear Energy, advising the Director-General.