Meet the TWI Team at NDA 2025

Rory recently joined TWI as the Associate Director of Key Accounts & Sectors. He will serve as the focal point for business development across the group and identify opportunities for TWI’s technology experts to meet its members’ technical challenges.

Rory is an accomplished business leader and strategist with over 30 years of industry experience in capital equipment in-service support and asset management. In the last 20 years, Rory has been at a senior level, holding directorial positions in operations and sales and as a managing director. During his career, Rory has worked with most of the major UK defence companies, gained awards for achieving operational excellence, and helped companies grow organically.

John is an experienced, qualified, and respected nuclear and energy specialist who started his career in the Royal Navy as a Marine Engineer and then spent 26 years in the Aerospace industry, predominantly in experimental and R & D before moving into the nuclear sector.

Over the last decade he has provided considerable support and guidance into Government departments and programmes, BIS, DECC, DTI, Welsh Government, KTN, Nuclear AMRC, MTC and UKAEA.

John was the lead (and chair) for the Government Supply Chain Optimisation Strategy (SCOS). This was a strategic approach, sponsored by UK Government, for taking action to support the development of the UK s nuclear supply chain.

John was the Strategic Sourcing Lead at UKAEA for STEP, JET & Fusion Futures. STEP is the world first commercialisation of a fusion reactor (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) with responsibility for sourcing companies, technology, and materials from around the globe.

Previously John was the nuclear manufacturing advisor for the Manufacturing Advisory service (MAS) in the south West of England and one of four Lead F4N Assessor in the UK with responsibility for the South West of England (Hinkley Point C). Also supported EDF, Somerset Chamber of Commerce and later HPC supply chain as manufacturing and technical advisor.

Supported International client in winning the 2018 World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE2018) operational excellence award (SME) and also supported UK client in winning the UK manufacturing of the year award (SME)

Specific headline experience includes:

• Nuclear-delta, behavioural, cultural and safety related industry expectations
• Nuclear steam and power generation systems supply – naval marine through to civil and industry cycles
• Supply chain engagement and development
• Business development
• Global sourcing to support Fission & Fusion supply chains
• Multi-site lean transformation, nationally and globally
• Tier 1 Nuclear pre – audits and expectations of requirements
• Merger and acquisitions sourcing UK and International
• Nuclear & Fusion operational excellence
• Routes to market (Nuclear & Fusion)

Dr Ali Khan is a principal project leader at TWI. He is in charge of all aspects of the development of laser material processing and applications and has been instrumental in the development of laser technology for decommissioning applications at TWI. He has successfully led many research and development projects for TWI Members and recently worked closely with Magnox Ltd to deploy a first-of-a-kind automated remote laser cutting facility at Hinkley Point A nuclear power station.

Nathan Hartley is an experienced Chartered Engineer and Project Manager with more than 20 years’ experience in the defence, nuclear, energy, manufacturing and non-destructive testing industries. Since joining TWI in 2018 he has managed a variety of complex and high value engineering and research projects with a focus on automation and development of novel NDT techniques. He recently introduced multi-frequency microwave inspection to TWI’s capabilities and has been instrumental in the integration and use of mobile and collaborative robots. He has also overseen the development of a novel, automated acoustic inspection method for the inspection of highly attenuative glass fibre structures. Nathan is also an accomplished NDT practitioner, holding CSWIP Level II qualifications in UT and PAUT (Welds).