Welcome to Ansaldo Nuclear: Mark Chapman

Mark Chapman joined Ansaldo Nuclear as a Key Account Manager in February 2023. Here, he discusses the new role, his career so far, what brought him to Ansaldo Nuclear and why some people still call him ‘Challenge Chapman’...

Can you tell us a little more about your new role?

I’m genuinely excited to be joining Ansaldo Nuclear as a Key Account Manager. I have a strong background in operations, energy, and nuclear, so it’s a natural role for me to be taking on, and the fact that it focuses on Sellafield in particular is of real interest to me.

As well as overseeing our activities at Sellafield, I’m also in charge of developing the business that we have there. It’s one of the largest sites in Europe with plenty of decommissioning opportunities on the horizon, and Ansaldo Nuclear’s credentials in this space make us a solid, sensible option.

What’s so interesting about Sellafield in particular?

It’s basically where my engineering career began. I was born in Whitehaven, and started as a BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels Limited) Apprentice at Sellafield. I then spent a lot of time at Calder Hall and its replacement, the Fellside CHP Plant (which supplied critical steam and electricity to Sellafield). So for me, this role is very much a case of coming back home, and being part of the nuclear industry where I started once more.?

I'm very pleased to be going back and hopefully I can reacquaint myself with everybody and everything. It will be interesting to see how things have changed since I’ve been away!

Where did you go from there?

One of the things I’m really proud about in my career is how I’ve built it from scratch. I’m a working class lad, but with hard work and dedication, I managed to work my way up to senior level management. For any young apprentices out there, I’m proof that you can go from the tools to the top job.

For example, within 5-6 years of working on the shop floor at Calder Hall, I was Fellside Power Station Manager by the age of 32. It was a great role to be in, with lots of responsibility, and it showed me that not only could I do the kind of jobs which usually aren’t reserved for “people like me”, I could do them well.

Since then I’ve been working on lots of interesting projects… being the Managing Director of a new pipe joint technology company in Jersey and Norfolk, as well as the CEO of a couple of Aerospace organisations. But I’ve always had a love for the nuclear sector, and it’s good to be back.

I also had a brief stint running my own fitness centre in the 80s, which is probably where I got my nickname…

Nickname? What nickname?

Some of my colleagues back in the day used to call me “Challenge Chappers,” because I was always challenging the team in tough physical challenges — like who could hold the toolbox at arm's length for the longest, or who could jump onto the highest bench with one leg.

Although I’ve moved on from lifting toolboxes, that competitive spirit in the face of a challenge is something I’ve never lost. I’m always on the lookout for the next big challenge.

Is this what excited you most about Ansaldo Nuclear?

What I really liked about Ansaldo Nuclear, and Andrea (the Managing Director) in particular, was how the company seems to think outside the box with a completely different mindset. The team has got exactly the right attitude you need to succeed in this industry, as far as I’m concerned.

It’s often easy for engineers to get stuck in a box, not trying something new because “that’s not the way we do things.” But to me, the secret is to always answer “yes.” Whatever the challenge is, when you have the capabilities of Ansaldo Nuclear, “yes we can do it.” Even if you don’t have the answer right there and then, you can always push yourself to look harder and find the right solution.

The second you start saying “no”, you lose the opportunity before you even get a chance to figure it out. Ansaldo Nuclear is the kind of company which understands that.

What do you want to achieve during your time at Ansaldo Nuclear?

I'm genuinely, really enthusiastic about this role. I think I can make some positive differences to the way we operate here. Throughout my career, I’ve built up a strong network of trusted connections, which could really help us grow our operations at Sellafield.

It won’t be too difficult to build up, either. With more people on the ground, there will be more networking, more business and more opportunities beyond that. It will all just compound itself.?

If I can help us double or even quadruple in size over the coming 3-5 years, then I’ll be very happy. That will be my intent. There’s a lot of history behind this company, a history which more people should know about. I want to help make Ansaldo Nuclear a beast of the industry, and I’m excited to get started.