UK’s Sellafield chief to step down in 2027
Chris Train, who chairs Sellafield Ltd, said the timing would let the company “identify the right candidate to succeed him”.
The chief executive of Sellafield Ltd, Euan Hutton, is to step down in July 2027, the company has announced.
Hutton, who has led the company for three years, will pursue a non-executive career and spend more time with family, the company said.
Hutton, who first walked through the gates of Sellafield in October 1991, said leading the site had been “the greatest honour and privilege of my professional life”.
Hutton said the work at the site was “world leading, but it’s the people that make it happen”, with “nothing but admiration and gratitude” for those who delivered it.
Hutton said “the time has come to move on to the next phase of my life”.
Announcing the decision now would allow “enough time to allow the very best candidate to be found”, as well as a period of handover, Hutton said.
Chris Train, who chairs Sellafield Ltd, said Hutton had made “a huge contribution to the operation of this business for many years”.
Train said the timing would let the company “identify the right candidate to succeed him” and continue “safe and secure delivery of the mission”.
David Peattie, chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), said of Hutton: “He’s had a significant impact at Sellafield Ltd and importantly right across the NDA Group.”
“I wish him well for his next chapter, and I look forward to continuing to work with him over the coming months,” Peattie said.
A formal search for a successor will now begin.
Correction, 20 September 2026: An earlier version attributed the account of Euan Hutton’s future plans to Hutton. It was given by the company.
