Most notably
With more than 35 years of global experience, Jeff is a visionary change agent in the nuclear power industry having worked in markets that include Europe, Japan, Africa and the United States.
He served as Vice President for Business Development and as Vice President of International Market Development at X-energy. He was among the first 10 staff members hired at the company, playing a key role in its early stages of growth. Jeff was responsible for initiating customer engagements with Dow, Energy Northwest, and Amazon. As a key executive leader, he helped X-energy secure a $1.2 billion matching grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. He was also instrumental in securing strategic partnerships with Zachry, Burns & McDonnell, Hatch, and Cavendish.
Jeff also led the turnaround of Petrel Engineering, a 60-year-old South African marine and equipment manufacturer acquired by the Elgin Engineering Company. Major results during Jeff’s incumbency while at Petrel include:
- Increased customer pipeline opportunities from less than 30,000 rand (~ $3,000) to 450 million rand (~ $46 million) in eight months
- Increased project backlog from zero to 50 million rand (~ $5 million) within a 12-month period
- Achieved significant cost reductions by re-engineering Petrel’s core processes, strengthening management, and cultivating a high-performance culture that eliminated inefficiencies and restored profitability
Professional experience
Advanced Reactor: Prior to Jeff’s tenure at ZettaJoule and X-energy, he was the commercial development program manager at Westinghouse for its Small Modular Light Water Reactor (AP300) and High-Temperature Gas Reactor program (PBMR-Westinghouse-Shaw partnership). He was also an international licensing manager for its AP1000 new build program.
Entrepreneurial: Jeff was Founder and CEO of Turner, Harper & Associates; a niche global engineering consulting firm which grew to more than 100 full-time employees serving the energy industry for more than 12 years, including key nuclear clients such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the Czech Republic Nuclear Power Company (CEZ), Lockheed Martin, and Bechtel Jacobs.
Regulatory: Jeff began his nuclear industry career as a vendor inspector and materials engineer for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where he led special projects and over 30 management, technical, and quality assurance inspections and audits of nuclear power facilities and associated supply chains. At the Commission, he was a key technical contributor to its program on substandard foreign-supplied fasteners imported into the U.S., which led to the enactment of the “Fastener Quality Act” U.S. Public Law 101-592.
Advisory Boards: Jeff has participated as an Advisory Board member on the University of Michigan’s Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Advisory Board for several years (2020 – present). He was also a member of the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Suppliers Advisory Committee (2018 – 2023); the EU-U.S. Small Modular Reactor Steering Committee (2018 – 2023); and he served the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the capacity of Chairman (2020 – 2022) and Vice Chairman (2018 - 2020) of the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee.
Jeff is a frequent speaker on advanced nuclear technology and commercialization.
Education
Jeff received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.
More about Jeff
In 2023, Jeff launched Charles Harper Charities (CHC, a public 501(c)(3)) to promote public awareness about nuclear power and help the global nuclear industry attract a qualified and skilled workforce. Harper Academy 4 Future Nuclear Engineers, CHC’s flagship program, is a STEM summer residential program that academically prepares high school students for engineering college and introduces them to nuclear engineering careers.
Jeff is an avid endurance athlete, having successfully completed numerous competitive events, including a 100-mile cycling race in Cape Town, South Africa; more than 20 triathlons, five marathons, and several half marathons and 10K races.
His greatest athletic achievement was summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world in 2023.