COG Management Team

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​The CANDU Owners Group management team, led by President and CEO Rachna Clavero, provid​es leadership in four lines of business: Research and Development (R&D), Joint Projects and Services (JP&S), Nuclear Safety and Environmental Affairs (NSEA), and Information Exchange (IE), including Learning and Development (L&D). Members and supplier participants work together through collaboration. COG also has experienced Corporate Services and Information Management and Technology teams who ensure efficiency and security in all COG operations. ​

 

​​Rachna Clavero​​​
Rachna Clavero

President & Chief Executive Officer

Rachna Clavero was appointed President and CEO in December, 2022. Rachna has had a diverse career in the nuclear industry. She first joined COG in October 2015, where she developed the Strategic R&D program and helped the industry establish long term priorities for R&D. In her five years at COG, she progressed from Program Manager of Research and Development to Director of Nuclear Safety & Environmental Affairs, before being appointed Deputy CEO. 

From 2020-2022, Rachna was Senior Director, Strategic Growth & Innovation at Kinectrics. In this role, she developed, orchestrated and implemented strategies to ensure Kinectrics’ long-term growth and profitability, and ensured that Kinectrics was well-aligned with its domestic and international clients’ priorities. Reporting directly to the CEO, Clavero had oversight of the nuclear business development team, the innovation portfolio and the company’s sustainability initiatives. 

Prior roles include senior positions with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Candesco Corporation and the Ontario Ministry of Energy. She began her career performing safety analysis for the restart of the Ontario reactors and then moved on to regulatory projects for the Canadian utilities and waste management. Rachna returned to AECL to lead licensing for new CANDU designs. During her time at the Ministry of Energy she provided strategic advice on nuclear new builds, refurbishment, radioactive waste management and emergency planning. She has consulted internationally at the IAEA and sits on the Nuclear Strategic Steering Committee​ at the Canadian Standards Association. A strong supporter of diversity in the workplace, Rachna is a mentor and coach to emerging leaders in the industry.


Lines of business directors


Carlos Lorencez
Carlos Lorencez

Director, Nuclear Safety & Environmental Affairs Program

Carlos Lorencez joined COG in the role of Director, Nuclear Safety and Environmental Affairs (NSEA) in October 2020. Lorencez has more than 30 years of experience in the nuclear industry and has spent the last two decades at Ontario Power Generation (OPG). He most recently served as director of OPG's nuclear safety division. Prior to joining COG, Lorencez served as chair of COG’s Nuclear Safety Peer Group and Industry Standard Toolset Steering Committee. He holds a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from Mexico’s Instituto Politécnico Nacional and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto.

As NSEA Director, Lorencez has accountability for managing collaborative regulatory efforts amongst COG members. NSEA facilitates several COG leadership forums, including the Chief Nuclear Officer Forum and through NSEA, COG members work together in several disciplines including safety culture, human and organizational factors; decommissioning and waste management; and, emergency preparedness and response. COG's SMR development program also falls under his NSEA portfolio.


​Usha Menon

​Usha Menon
​​​Director, Research & Development Program

 As Director of Research and Development, Usha Menon oversees the department responsible for managing a portfolio of projects in six streams of R&D, with an investment of almost $40M, annually. The result of these projects contributes to continuous improvement and innovation in the safe, reliable, cost effective operation of CANDU stations worldwide.

Usha is a nuclear professional with more than 30 years of experience in the CANDU industry, with significant experience in nuclear safety, including roles at the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board India, leading the Advanced CANDU Reactor and Enhanced CANDU 6 PSA team at the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (now Candu Energy Inc.), and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), where she led the Bruce Power Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) reviews and was part of the team to review Darlington and Pickering PSAs.At CNSC, she was a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency CANDU PSA working group.

Usha joined COG in February, 2017 in the role of Program Manager for R&D’s Industry Standard Toolset program.  Usha holds a Master’s degree in Nuclear Physics (with specialization in Reactor Physics) from University of Bombay and a Graduate Diploma in Nuclear Technology from McMaster University.



Sonia Qureshi
Sonia Qureshi

Director, Joint Projects & Services Program

As Director of Joint Projects and Services at the CANDU Owner's Group (COG), Sonia is responsible for the line of business that develops solutions to problems and common issues in the CANDU community through innovative new approaches for longer more robust plant life.  The group also provides auditing and inspection qualification services towards ensuring quality and reliability of CANDU systems and components. Sonia is responsible for interfacing with potential clients, member partners and executives both domestically and internationally.

Sonia has over 26 years of experience in the nuclear industry.  Prior to COG, she worked at Candu Energy, (a subsidiary to AtkinsRealis/previously SNC-Lavalin), with her last position being the Director of Marketing & Strategy.  She also worked at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL), as a process engineer, product development business manager, and a senior cost engineer with extensive experience in developing proposals and cost models for various large scale nuclear projects and new builds.

Sonia holds a Chemical Engineering honours degree from the University of Toronto and is a licensed Professional Engineer with the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO).  Sonia is also very active with Women in Nuclear (WiN) Canada and was the past Chair for the Golden Horseshoe West (GHW) Chapter and a member of the WiN Canada Board of Directors for many years. Sonia continues to support the WiN Canada's Speakers Clearinghouse initiative, WiN Canada's Leadership Development Training program, and has a passion for mentorship.​

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John Sowagi
John Sowagi

Director, Information Exchange Program

John Sowagi is the Director of Information Exchange for the CANDU Owners Group (COG) Inc. As the Director of the Information Exchange (IE) department, the goal is to leverage operational experience and best practices across the industry and among CANDU utilities so that each member and supplier participant can make the most of shared operating experience and best practices. Learning & Development is one of the programs that is specifically designed to capture lessons learned, promote understanding of the CANDU technology and provide leadership training to the CANDU community. Another key program under IE is the COG Supplier Participant Program that is to share supplier perspectives, best practices and lessons learned, compile messages on common challenges in execution of services for customers, engage with customers and resolve common issues for the benefit of the industry, and finally to work collaboratively to ensure a strong supplier network supporting the CANDU nuclear industry.

John has over 40 years of nuclear experience working at the Pickering, Darlington and Bruce nuclear generating stations. John has worked in technical and management roles both in the station environment and in support organizations. He current leads executive development programs, mentoring programs and international joint programs for COG members.He has worked with utility leaders from nuclear plants around the world. John completed his education at Centennial College in Electrical and Controls, St. Francis Xavier University in Adult Education and the University of Toronto in Human Resources. He is currently the Chair of the IAEA Technical Working Group - Managing Human Resources and Knowledge Committee (TWG-MHRK).​



Corporate functions

​Ann Palen
Ann Palen

​​​​Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

 As COG’s Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, Ann Palen is responsible for financial and business services, corporate governance, risk management and human resources functions. In her role, she combines her technical and business experience in the nuclear industry.  

Ann launched her career at Ontario Hydro after graduating from engineering.  Early on, Ann worked at Bruce Power, commissioning nuclear safety systems.  She spent several years in the Nuclear Studies and Safety Department working on the safety design of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.  This was followed by a stint in Generation Planning and Development.

Ann worked on the Canadian Fusion Fuels Technology Project (CFFTP), which was jointly funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and Ontario Hydro.  CFFTP’s mission was to extend Canada’s fusion capabilities, particularly the tritium technology developed in the CANDU program.  She then moved to business side of Ontario Hydro Research Division, which became Kinectrics. 

Ann has been a valued member of the COG team since 2009, when she joined in the role of Senior Business Manager. Ann holds an MBA from the University of Toronto.



Mark Jeffers
Mark Jeffers

Director, Corporate Services

As Director of Corporate Services, Mark plays a key role in the transformation and ongoing performance of COG by providing leadership for COG’s corporate operations.  With a broad portfolio of key shared services including procurement, human resources, quality assurance, risk, governance, and information technology Mark is responsible for developing the policies, processes, and practices to meet program objectives. 

Mark has almost three decades of experience within the Energy and Resources sectors, including senior positions at companies such as Accenture, Hatch, and Petro-Canada. He has a strong commercial and operations background, as well as a member-centric focus built on the principles of inclusion, ownership, and empowerment.  Mark’s core expertise includes strategic relationships, innovative business practices, revenue growth and risk mitigation. He has led large, cross-functional teams and has built the commercial and risk infrastructure within business units spanning multiple markets. Mark has a Bachelor of Engineering from McMaster University and currently holds a P. Eng. From Professional Engineers Ontario.



Sarah Charuk
Sarah Charuk

Director, Communications

Sarah Charuk is COG’s Director of Communications. She joined COG in 2021. 

In her role, Sarah works as part of the leadership team to effectively position COG and its mandate; support communications to COG employees, members and stakeholder communities and continue to advance the COG communications program, with a focus on driving awareness of the important contributions of COG members in the nuclear industry. 

Sarah brings over 15 years of senior communications leadership experience, including her role as Director of Communications for Northland Power, a global sustainable power producer. She also previously worked with GS1 Canada, a global standards organization, Element Fleet Management and the Ontario government. 

Sarah holds a master’s degree in communications management from McMaster University and a bachelor’s degree in political studies from Queen’s University.