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Andrew Bielat Named VERTical Executive Director

VERTical Innovation Cluster Executive Director Andrew Bielat headshot.

Andrew Bielat Named VERTical Executive Director

June 18, 2024

RICHLAND, Wash. – On Monday, the VERTical board of directors appointed Andrew Bielat as the Washington state innovation cluster’s executive director. Bielat will replace Diahann Howard, VERTical interim director since October 2023. Port of Benton administers VERTical, where Howard is the executive director.

Bielat lives in Vancouver, Washington, and has more than 35 years of experience in high-stakes environments, including serving as the chief operating officer of a $1 billion steel company, leading critical initiatives for the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Defense, extensive service in North American nuclear power generation and handling mission-critical situations for several Fortune 100 companies.

He has expertise in managing root cause analyses in sensitive situations, including commercial nuclear power, chemical weapons demilitarization, petrochemical facilities and heavy manufacturing.

Bielat excels at cross-functional leadership and integrating diverse teams and disciplines. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

“I sincerely thank the VERTical Board and leadership for entrusting me with the opportunity to help restore nuclear power to its rightful role in U.S. energy generation,” Bielat said.

About VERTical
VERTical is an industry-led innovation cluster working with business and labor to solve national supply chain, workforce, capital and other challenges impeding the widescale deployment of next-generation nuclear technologies. Learn more about VERTical and the innovation cluster’s priorities and projects at VERTicalCluster.com.

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Media Contact

Summers Miya
Port of Benton PIO
509-375-3060
smiya@portofbenton.com

Waynette Roberson

Waynette Roberson is CPCCo’s Director of Mission Assurance & Optimization. With more than 30 years of experience in the nuclear and manufacturing sectors, she leads initiatives to align CPCCo’s goals with a strong nuclear safety culture.

Previously, Waynette was the Chief Performance Assurance Officer at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, where she designed the Performance Assurance Organization and developed the Performance Assurance Program. Her career roles focusing on performance assurance, quality management and regulatory compliance with several companies across the DOE complex and internationally.

She holds a master’s degree in business and organizational communication and a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering technology from Murray State University. Certified as an NQA-1 Lead Auditor, Waynette excels in performance and quality assurance, incident investigation and root-cause analysis.