Jay Jiang Yu
Founder, Executive Chairman and President
Mr. Yu is a serial and leading U.S. advanced nuclear technology entrepreneur with 20 years of capital markets experience. He is a private investor in a multitude of companies and has advised a magnitude of company executives with corporate advisory services such as capital funding, mergers & acquisitions, structured financing, corporate restructuring, and other business development services geared at taking these companies to the next level. He is a self taught and private self investor, his relentless passion for international business has helped him develop key, strategic and valuable relationships throughout the world.
Mr. Yu leads the corporate structuring, capital financings, executive level recruitment, governmental relationships and international brand growth of NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. Previously, Mr. Yu worked as an Analyst part of the Corporate & Investment Banking Division at Deutsche Bank on Wall Street in New York City.
Mr. Yu is the founder and chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy Inc., a vertically integrated advanced portable microreactor technology company publicly listed on the NASDAQ Exchange. Under his leadership, NANO Nuclear Energy acquired one of the highest technology readiness level (TRL) and patented advanced microreactors in development, reached over $3 BILLION Market Capitalization in value, raised over $600 MILLION to date, $1 BILLION of future financing structured and became Wall Street’s Cinderella story of 2024 as the #1 Top IPO Performer. In 2021, Mr. Yu was honored as one of The Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in business. He is an active Philanthropist and the founder of a Non-Profit Organization that helps nurture New York City kids through sports and education. Mr. Yu worked and continued his studies at Columbia University after earning a BA in Psychology from City College of New York.
James Walker, BEng, MSc, CEng, PEng
CEO and Board Member
Mr. Walker is a Nuclear Physicist and Nuclear Engineer, with experience in reactor core manufacturing facilities, primary and secondary reactor systems, and nuclear fuel reclamation plants. He has worked as a nuclear physicist and thermal-hydraulicist on the U.K. successor class of submarines, and was the U.K. Ministry of Defence subject matter expert for nuclear fuel reclamation.
Mr. Walker has extensive experience in engineering and project management across domains, such as mining engineering, mechanical engineering, construction, manufacturing, and infrastructure. Mr. Walker has executive experience with several public companies as well as financing, company structuring and organization.
Mr. Walker holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering, and Nuclear Physics and Engineering, as well as qualifications in Project Management and Accountancy. He is a Chartered Physicist with the Institute of Physics, a Charted Engineer with the IMechE, a Project Manager Professional with the APM, and a Professional Engineer in North America.
Florent Heidet, Ph.D.
Chief Technology Officer and Head of Reactor Development
Dr. Heidet is a world-renowned expert on advanced nuclear reactor technologies, leveraging two decades of nuclear engineering and project management expertise. Dr. Heidet was previously the Head of Engineering at Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC), where he led a multidisciplinary team of over 100 experts working around the globe to advance the development of the KRONOS MMRTM Energy System and LOKI MMRTM technologies prior to their acquisition by NANO Nuclear earlier this year.
Prior to his leadership role with USNC, Dr. Heidet spent 12 years at Argonne National Laboratory, where he played a central role in most of the laboratory’s reactor design projects. He led the design of the Versatile Test Reactor, a $2 billion program under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, served as the Argonne manager for the Transformational Challenge Reactor program, coordinated the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion efforts in support of NASA, and provided expertise and leadership to numerous federal, commercial, and international projects.
Dr. Heidet has a proven track-record of assembling highly effective teams and consistently delivering impactful outcomes. His organizational skills are widely acknowledged through several institutional awards. Dr. Heidet holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, a M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the ENSAM (Paris, France), and business program certificates from both Berkeley Haas School of Business and Chicago Booth School of Business. He has published numerous peer-reviewed technical papers and authored several chapters of the Encyclopedia of Nuclear Energy.
Matthew Barry, CPA, CFA
Director of Investor Relations
Matt has over 10 years of experience in accounting, equity research and investor relations at both public and private companies. He began his career at Deloitte, where he audited the financial statements and internal controls of various public and private clients across various industries. Matt served as an equity research analyst at investment banks H.C. Wainwright and Cowen and Company, where he covered an aggregate portfolio of approximately 40 companies across both firms, creating complex financial models and analyzing a wide range of macroeconomic and industry data and trends. He later served as Manager of Investor Relations at Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO), a Nasdaq-listed global capital equipment provider, where he led the investor relations function. At Veeco, he successfully developed an in-house investor targeting program and was instrumental in attracting investment from multiple ideal long-only long-term oriented investors who initiated substantial positions in the company.
Matt earned his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license in 2017 and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2024. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Science in Taxation from Hofstra University where he received the FEI Top Accounting Student award.
Darlene T. DeRemer
Executive Director of Corporate Finance
Ms. Darlene DeRemer is the Chair of the ARK Invest ETF Trust Board and co-founder of Grail Partners LLC, where she leads the firm’s Boston office. As a senior banker, she focuses on the global asset management industry, advising clients on a wide range of strategic transactions. With over 25 years of experience as a leading adviser in the financial services industry, Ms. DeRemer has specialized in strategic marketing, product design, and the implementation of innovative service strategies.
Before transitioning into investment banking, Ms. DeRemer led or participated in numerous advisory transactions. Her current clients include institutional and mutual fund managers in the U.S., as well as alternative investment firms seeking to access public markets both domestically and internationally. Previously, she ran NewRiver’s eBusiness Advisory unit for four years and operated her own strategy firm, DeRemer + Associates, for 18 years. Founded in 1987, DeRemer + Associates was the first consultancy focused on the U.S. mutual fund industry.
Ms. DeRemer holds a BS in finance and marketing (summa cum laude, 1977) and an MBA with distinction (1979) from Syracuse University.
John G. Vonglis
Executive Director of Global Government Affairs
Mr. Vonglis served as the Senate-confirmed Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy from 2017 to 2019. As CFO, John oversaw all financial matters for the Department of Energy. He was also appointed by the President as Acting Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), a federal agency focused on advancing early-stage, high-potential, high-impact energy technologies while minimizing risk to taxpayers.
Prior to his tenure at the Department of Energy, John held several key roles at the Department of Defense from 2002 to 2009, initially as Director of Management Initiatives for the Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness (P&R) and lastly as Acting Assistant Secretary (CFO) of the U.S. Air Force, where he also served as the first Chief Management Officer, performing the duties of the Under Secretary.
John’s private sector experience includes senior financial and operational roles at prominent advisory, aerospace/defense, financial services, and high-technology firms, such as Grumman Aerospace, The First Boston Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and IBM. Additionally, John is a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and has advised the Army Cyber Institute at West Point. He holds a B.S. and M.B.A. from Fordham University and a Master’s in International Public Policy from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Winston Chow, MBA, MPA
VP of Global Policy
Mr. Chow has served as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy on East Asia, where he implemented two US-China Agreements on clean energy between Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao. He’s also worked across Asia and Africa as a diplomat for intergovernmental U.N. observer-organization, Global Green Growth Institute, to decarbonize China’s global Belt and Road Initiative. The U.S. Department of Energy has bestowed two meritorious service awards for his work.
Mr. Chow has also led over $26 million in projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), co-managing the U.S. Government’s flagship clean energy development initiative in Southeast Asia. His work has catalyzed a joint partnership between the United States and Australian governments to drive energy infrastructure transition through Thailand, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
In the private sector, Mr. Chow served as Senior Director for New York clean energy startup CleanEdison, building its government business across 48 States. He is Senior China Advisor on Energy, Environment and Social Impact to Al Gore-backed company, Globality Inc., and frequent news commentator on energy and environment for China Global Television Network. Mr. Chow holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s in international politics from Columbia University in the City of New York, and an M.B.A. from the Kelley School of Business.
Tom Cuce
President of Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc.
Tom Cuce’s expertise has been honed by over 25 years of driving transformative supply chain solutions and profitability through strategic planning and process optimization across the global logistics and package delivery industry. He began his career in 1983 as a package handler for UPS in Long Island, NY. Mr. Cuce went on to hold numerous positions with the multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company, including Vice-President of Package Operations and Southern California District Manager, before serving as UPS President of Global Transportation.
During his time in the role, he served as a member of the Exec Business Planning Unit, with a capital budget expenditure of $16 billion and was the driving force behind a plethora of transformative programs, projects and cost-cutting initiatives. Mr. Cuce, an active member in the community, also spent several years working with the Las Vegas Urban League and served as a board member for the United Way of Greater Los Angeles – Antelope Valley Region, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, the United Way of Orange County, the Jessie Rees Foundation and the Orange County Business Council.
Today, he serves on the Advisory Board of several companies and is the Founder and President of Summit View Solutions.
Jaisun Garcha, MBA, CPA, CGA
Chief Financial Officer
Jaisun Garcha has 20 years of experience in financial management, corporate governance, and risk management in both public and private companies, including high-growth and start-up stage organizations. He has taken several companies public through IPOs and RTOs and has been the CFO for multiple publicly traded companies in the last decade.
Ion C. Moraru, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Technology Legal Affairs
Ion C. Moraru is a highly technical attorney with extensive experience as counselor and legal service provider. Mr. Moraru has worked with various clients operating in advanced technological and global industries developing sophisticated legal strategies to achieve business objectives.
Before joining NANO Nuclear Energy, Mr. Moraru worked as both law firm attorney and in-house attorney, and also founded a law firm. Mr. Moraru is admitted in the State of Illinois, and was selected to 2026 Illinois Rising Stars for excellence in practice. Mr. Moraru is also registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and is admitted to the General Bar in the Northern District of Illinois.
Mr. Moraru completed his legal studies at Chicago-Kent College of Law of the Illinois Institute of Technology, and earned a Ph.D. in physics from Michigan State University. Mr. Moraru also worked as post-doctoral researcher in physics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Diana Chung
Director of Human Resources
Oscar Leandro, MBA
VP of Corporate Development
Oscar Leandro is an accomplished investment professional and entrepreneur with a robust track record in alternative investments and energy development. With a global perspective honed through diverse international experiences, Oscar brings a wealth of expertise in frontier market investments, corporate finance, and technology-driven ventures.
Oscar served as a Principal at Green Swan Capital, an alternative investment firm, focusing on innovative gas flaring reduction projects in frontier markets. His strategic vision and leadership have been instrumental in sourcing investment opportunities across Latin America. He has also held pivotal roles in financial advisory at Deloitte Consulting, contributing to major M&A transactions and valuations across various industries, and as a Summer Fellow at KAUST Investment Management Company, where he developed special situations investment strategies for one of the world’s largest endowments.
Oscar holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Arts in International Studies from The Wharton School and the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. Awarded a prestigious merit-based fellowship, he conducted his master’s thesis on the social and environmental impacts of electric vehicle supply chains. He led healthcare consulting projects in East Africa for the Wharton Global Health Volunteers and served as president of the Wharton Latin American Student Association. His international experiences are complemented by summer exchanges at the London School of Economics, Peking University, and Sciences Po Paris. Oscar is a Westerwelle Foundation Young Founder, a distinction awarded to outstanding entrepreneurs from emerging markets, and he earned a Global Competitiveness Leadership certificate from Georgetown University as part of a fellowship sponsored by Georgetown’s Latin American Board.