Council elects two new
Deputy Director-Generals (DDGs)
In the ITER Organization, DDGs play an important role in facilitating the communication and enhancing the interaction with the ITER Members and their Domestic Agencies. One DDG is appointed from every ITER Member.
Last week, the ITER Council elected two new DDGs. Mary Erlenborn, for the US, will be joining the ITER Organization on 1 February 2014 as Director of the General Administration Directorate. Joo-Shik Bak, for Korea, is Chief Engineer and Director of the Project Control & Assembly Directorate. With these new appointments, all DDG positions are filled, with the exception of India.
"The DDGs are an essential communication link between the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies," stressed the Director-General of the ITER Organization, Osamu Motojima after the meeting. "We now have all DDGs except from India and I hope to have an Indian candidate for DDG as soon as possible."
The Council responded to an internal, biennial independent assessment that urged changes in both project management and governance. The Council agreed with the assessment's findings, which indicated that the project faces challenges including schedule delays that need to be addressed immediately. To this effect, an action plan will be presented in mid-January and will be evaluated at an Extraordinary Meeting of the ITER Council in early February 2014.