Fermi, a nuclear-energy company focused on supplying power for the growing AI data-center industry, has appointed Lee McIntire as its new CEO, ending a leadership vacuum that lasted more than three months. McIntire was already an independent member of Fermi's board and previously served as CEO of engineering and construction company CH2M Hill as well as TerraPower, the nuclear startup founded by Bill Gates.
The leadership change follows the departure of Fermi co-founder Toby Neugebauer, who was removed as CEO in April along with CFO Brett Perlman. The abrupt departures came only months after Fermi went public, making the company's leadership transition particularly notable as it attempts to execute an ambitious nuclear-power strategy.
Fermi's business sits at the intersection of AI and the growing electricity crunch. Data centers require enormous amounts of reliable power, and nuclear energy is increasingly being promoted as a potential solution because it can provide continuous, low-carbon electricity. The wider market is attracting significant investment: other nuclear startups are pursuing small modular reactors specifically for data-center and industrial customers, while companies such as Nvidia are exploring partnerships around nuclear-powered AI infrastructure.
McIntire's nuclear and infrastructure background could therefore be particularly relevant as Fermi moves from the AI-power narrative toward actually delivering nuclear capacity. The challenge is that nuclear projects are capital-intensive, technically complex and subject to lengthy regulatory processes. Fermi's new CEO will need to turn the enormous electricity demand created by AI into a commercially viable nuclear-development pipeline—at a time when numerous startups are competing for the same opportunity. The appointment is ultimately another sign that AI's infrastructure boom is reshaping the energy industry, with nuclear power becoming an increasingly important part of the race to supply the computing capacity behind next-generation AI.
