NAES · Asset Solutions

Reliability grounded in real operating experience

I'm Jim Forehand, CMRP, Director of Risk and Reliability at NAES Asset Solutions. With a background spanning U.S. Navy nuclear operations, senior reactor operations, engineering leadership and outage management, I bring hands-on operating, design and supervision experience to every reliability assessment I lead.

Jim Forehand, CMRP, Director of Risk and Reliability, NAES Asset Solutions
Jim Forehand, CMRP
Director, Risk & Reliability · NAES
20+ yrs
Power plant operations & reliability leadership experience
CMRP
Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional
#1
NAES, largest third-party power plant operator in the U.S.
Nuclear
Senior Reactor Operator licensed background
RISK & RELIABILITYOUTAGE & SCHEDULINGRELIABILITY CENTERED MAINTENANCEPLANT OPERATIONSENGINEERING LEADERSHIPNUCLEAR OPERATIONS RISK & RELIABILITYOUTAGE & SCHEDULINGRELIABILITY CENTERED MAINTENANCEPLANT OPERATIONSENGINEERING LEADERSHIPNUCLEAR OPERATIONS
NAES Asset Solutions
Risk & reliability leadership
About Jim

A reliability leader who has run the control room himself

I bring extensive power plant operations experience including hands-on operating, design, and supervision. I hold a Mechanical Engineering degree, a Senior Reactor Operator License, and am a Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP), credentials built on top of real time spent running plants, not just studying them.

As Director of Risk and Reliability at NAES Asset Solutions, I bring together operations, engineering and reliability leadership from across my career, Reliability Manager and Operations Support Manager at EthosEnergy, Work Week Manager at DTE Energy, Operations and Outage/Scheduling Manager at Consumers Energy, Engineering Manager and Senior Reactor Operator at Entergy, Design Engineer at Black & Veatch, and my start as a Machinist Mate operating a nuclear power plant aboard a U.S. Navy ship.

  • ›20+ years of power plant operations & reliability leadership experience
  • ›Mechanical Engineering degree & Senior Reactor Operator License
  • ›Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP)
  • ›Background spanning U.S. Navy nuclear operations to commercial power plants
  • ›Experience across operations, outage/scheduling, engineering & reliability management
How I Help

Reliability judgment built on real operating time

Reliability recommendations land differently when they come from someone who has actually run the plant. Here's where that experience applies.

Risk & Reliability Leadership

  • Director-level reliability program leadership
  • Reliability centered maintenance (RCM)
  • CMRP-grounded reliability practices
  • Risk assessment for plant leadership

Plant Operations Management

  • Hands-on operating experience
  • Control room supervision
  • Senior Reactor Operator background
  • Operations support management

Outage & Scheduling Management

  • Outage & scheduling manager background
  • Work week management
  • Planning around real operating constraints
  • Coordinated multi-year outage programs

Engineering Leadership & Design

  • Engineering manager & supervisor experience
  • Power plant design, specifications & code adherence
  • Balance-of-plant engineering oversight
  • Design engineering background

RCM & CMRP Practices

  • Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional
  • Reliability centered maintenance implementation
  • Maintenance & business management processes
  • Risk management process design

Nuclear & Navy Operations Background

  • Senior Reactor Operator License
  • U.S. Navy nuclear power plant operations
  • Shipboard operations & supervision
  • Discipline & rigor from a nuclear foundation
Power generation facility

Backed by hands-on control room experience, from the Navy to the grid

When you work with me, you get more than a reliability report, you get a leader backed by NAES, the largest third-party operator of power plants in the U.S., who has actually held the license and run the plant.

My Approach

How I build reliability that holds up in the field

Reliability recommendations only matter if they survive contact with an actual outage. I build them from the operator's chair outward.

01

Operate it first

I ground every reliability recommendation in real hands-on operating experience, not just a data sheet.

02

Engineer the fix

I bring design & engineering rigor to the root cause of a problem, not just the symptom in front of me.

03

Schedule for reality

I build outage & maintenance schedules that reflect how plants actually run, not just how they're supposed to.

04

Certify the process

I apply CMRP-grounded reliability centered maintenance practices that hold up under real conditions.

Experience Snapshot

From the control room to the boardroom

A look at the roles that shape how I lead risk & reliability for power industry clients today.

DIR
2025 – Present
Director, Risk and Reliability

NAES Asset Solutions

Leading risk & reliability strategy for NAES Asset Solutions, bringing hands-on operating, engineering and reliability leadership experience to plant leadership teams.

Risk & ReliabilityRCMCMRP
1yr
2024 – 2025
Reliability Manager

EthosEnergy

Led reliability management following prior roles as Operations Support Manager and Work Week Manager, building on a background of hands-on operations leadership.

ReliabilityOperations Support
9yrs
2005 – 2014
Engineering Manager & Senior Reactor Operator

Entergy

Supervised control room operations as a licensed Senior Reactor Operator, then progressed to Engineering Supervisor and Engineering Manager overseeing balance-of-plant engineers.

Nuclear OperationsEngineeringLicensed SRO
Who I Work With

Built for teams keeping plants safe, reliable & on schedule

Whether you're managing an outage, building a reliability program, or need engineering judgment grounded in real operating experience, I work alongside the teams responsible for keeping the plant running.

Operations teamsReliability & maintenance teamsOutage & scheduling teamsEngineering teamsPlant leadershipNuclear & conventional generation
Get in touch

Have a reliability question worth asking?

Whether it's a reliability program you're building, an outage that needs scheduling, or an engineering question grounded in real operating experience, tell me what's going on and let's talk.

Jim Forehand
Jim Forehand, CMRP
Director, Risk & Reliability · NAES
info@NAES.com
Email info@NAES.com Address 1180 NW Maple St. Suite 200, Issaquah, WA 98027 USA
Start the conversation
Send a few details and I'll be in touch.