US nuclear reactor business Terrestrial Energy has hired Brian Romanzo as general counsel ahead of its transition to become a publicly-listed company.
Romanzo joins from franchise development business REP’M Group, where he was also GC. At Terrestrial Energy he will be responsible for all legal matters, bringing with him extensive in-house experience handling corporate, regulatory and transactional matters.
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Terrestrial Energy develops small modular nuclear power plants that are built with advanced reactor technology using molten salt as a coolant instead of water. It plans to have the first of its molten salt reactor plants operational by the early 2030s.
At the same time as Romanzo’s appointment, the company has also hired Brian Thrasher as chief financial officer.
Simon Irish, Terrestrial’s CEO, said: “Brian Thrasher and Brian Romanzo bring tremendous leadership and experience to the Terrestrial Energy executive team at a pivotal moment for the company’s growth journey. Their extensive experience in financial strategy, capital markets, regulatory compliance and public company readiness will be invaluable as we transition to public company life and accelerate the development and deployment of our nuclear technology.”
Romanzo spent five years at REP’M Group, having previously been at on-demand legal resourcing business Axiom for close to four years. He also had two spells at automative business Driven Brands, most recently as deputy GC and earlier as assistant GC, including four years as GC of its Meineke Car Centers business. He also spent three years as GC at electronics company SnapAV in between those two spells at Driven Brands.
Earlier in his career, Romanzo worked in private practice as an associate at Sidley Austin, having started out as a paralegal at Hughes Hubbard & Reed.
He said: “Terrestrial Energy is at the forefront of developing next-generation nuclear technology that addresses our world’s growing energy needs for clean and reliable baseload power. I’m excited to join this exceptional team and help navigate the regulatory and legal landscape.”
Last December, US energy business Constellation hired Jenner & Block partner and energy practice co-chair Matthew Price as its chief legal and policy officer. And last July, Spanish oil giant Cepsa said it was hiring Virginia Beltramini as CLO from Atento.
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