Executive Bios

The Indian Point Energy Center Leadership Team

We’d like you to meet some of our leadership team. These five individuals have more than 150 years of combined energy experience, the vast majority of which is in the nuclear industry.

Entergy has a well-earned reputation of hiring excellent individuals to run its facilities. The leaders listed here are just a few of them.

• Michael Kansler, President and Chief Nuclear Officer
• John Herron, Senior Vice President of Nuclear Operations
• Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Entergy Nuclear Operations
• Joseph Pollock, Site Vice President, Indian Point Energy Center
• Anthony Vitale, GM of Plant Operations, Indian Point Energy Center

Michael Kansler
President and Chief Nuclear Officer
Entergy Nuclear, a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation

Michael Kansler is the fleet-wide chief nuclear officer of Entergy Nuclear, after serving – since 2000 – as first, the company’s chief operating officer for the Northeast, and then, as president of the same region.

Kansler is currently responsible for all of Entergy’s nuclear plants located throughout New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Michigan, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, as well as the company’s management of the Cooper Nuclear Station for the State of Nebraska.

Kansler joined the Entergy system in 1998 as vice president of operations support, based at Entergy Nuclear’s headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi.

Before joining Entergy, Kansler spent more than 20 years at Virginia Power (now Dominion Resources). For his last two years with Virginia Power, he was vice president of its nuclear program and was responsible for the operation of Surry and North Anna – the company’s twin-unit nuclear power stations. During his tenure, the plants maintained high regulatory ratings and were top in the nation for their cost performance.

Kansler began his career at Surry in 1977 as an engineer and earned a senior reactor operator license in 1981. He held various management positions at Virginia Power, including superintendent of maintenance at North Anna, station manager at Surry, and vice president of nuclear engineering and services.

He spent a year with the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations as a technical support evaluator.

His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and he completed Pennsylvania State University’s executive management program.

Kansler is a founding member of the Northeast Energy Alliance; member of several business and community organizations including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and INPO National Nuclear Accrediting Board; and is the board chairman of the Energy Association of New York State.

John Herron
Senior Vice President of Nuclear Operations
Entergy Nuclear, a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation

John Herron is Entergy’s Senior Vice President for Nuclear Operations handling the operational side of fleet management. He previously served as chief operating officer of Entergy Nuclear Northeast overseeing the day-to-day operations of all Entergy Nuclear merchant plants, including Pilgrim Nuclear Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the James A. FitzPatrick and Indian Point Energy Center plants in Oswego and Buchanan, New York, respectively, and the Vermont Yankee power plant in Brattleboro, Vermont. Herron joined Entergy in February 2001 as vice president, operations at Waterford 3 Nuclear Station in Killona, Louisiana. He then moved to New York as the senior vice president of Indian Point Energy Center in February 2002.

Herron began his career in nuclear operations in 1979 at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation. Positions there included technical services superintendent, operations manager, technical program manager, shift supervisor, and supervisory control room operator. In 1994, he moved to Brownville, Nebraska to become plant manager at Nebraska Public Power District’s Cooper Nuclear Station.

Herron then joined Tennessee Valley Authority as plant manager at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., from October 1996 through July 1999. From July 1999 to February 2001, Herron served as site vice president at TVA’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Decatur, Alabama.

Prior to his career in utilities, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1972 to 1978. He was attached to the USS Tullibee and the SIC NPTU Windsor, where he was an instructor at the Nuclear Submarine Prototype School.

Herron holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire.

Michael A. Balduzzi
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Entergy Nuclear Operations
Entergy Nuclear, a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation

Michael A. Balduzzi was named senior vice president of regional operations for the northeast region of Entergy Nuclear in March 2007. He has overall responsibility for the daily operations of five nuclear sites Entergy operates in its Northeast region.

He began his career with Entergy Nuclear when the company purchased the Vermont Yankee Plant in July 2002, where he served as its vice president operations since the acquisition. In 2003 he was named as site vice president.

Balduzzi has extensive nuclear experience in boiling water reactor technologies. Prior to VY’s purchase, he was its senior vice president and chief nuclear officer. Before joining Entergy, Balduzzi spent more than five years with Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation and over 15 years with Niagara Mohawk.

He began his career at Niagara Mohawk in 1982 as an engineer and earned a senior reactor operator license in 1992. He held various management positions at Niagara Mohawk, Nine Mile One and Two, including lead quality assurance engineer, system engineer, general supervisor of operations support and operations manager. While at VYNPC, he moved from superintendent of operations, to plant manager, to vice president of operations, to senior vice president and chief nuclear officer.

His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from State University of New York at Buffalo, and he completed the Institute of Nuclear Power Operation’s Senior Nuclear Plant Management Course.

Anthony Vitale
GM of Plant Operations, Indian Point Energy Center

Anthony J. Vitale became plant manager of Indian Point Energy Center in September 2007. As plant manager, Vitale is responsible for the continued safe operation of Indian Point Energy Center’s units 2 and 3, and the maintenance of unit1.

Vitale has more than 24 years of experience at Indian Point Energy Center’s Unit 3 with the New York Power Authority in 1983. Before becoming plant manager of operations, Vitale was the manager of operations.

Vitale started his nuclear career at Indian Point Energy Center’s Unit 3 with the New York Power Authority in 1983 as a maintenance planner. Throughout his career with NYPA, Vitale worked in various maintenance, engineering and operations supervisory and management positions.

His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of Delaware. He holds a senior reactor operator certification and has also completed Entergy’s executive training program in 2004 and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators’ Senior Nuclear Plant Management Course in 2005.