SAN FRANCISCO — Fermi, the AI nuclear power firm, named Lee McIntire its new chief executive officer, effective Aug. 11, 2026, capping a three-month search after co-founder Toby Neugebauer departed the role.
The appointment, combined with news of its first binding customer lease, pushed Fermi's stock up nearly 23 percent since Monday. McIntire had served as an independent board member, giving him direct knowledge of the company's operations before taking the top job.
McIntire brings more than 40 years of engineering, construction and infrastructure leadership. He previously served as chief executive of CH2M Hill and TerraPower, the nuclear startup founded by Bill Gates, and held senior roles at Bechtel and McDermott International.
Marius Haas, Fermi's chairman of the board, said McIntire is the "ideal executive" to lead the company through its "construction and power delivery story," emphasizing the importance of building "on schedule, on budget, and safely."
Fermi America, co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, is developing Project Matador, an AI campus in Amarillo, Texas, that plans to use nuclear reactors to power its data centers. The project aims to establish a 17-gigawatt behind-the-meter campus combining natural gas, nuclear, solar, battery storage and utility grid power to support hyperscale AI and advanced computing workloads.
The leadership change follows an executive shakeup in April that saw Neugebauer and CFO Miles Everson pushed out. At that time, the company described the restructuring—which included a new corporate headquarters in Dallas—as "Fermi 2.0."
Securing TensorWave as Project Matador's first binding customer lease gives the company initial revenue visibility and validates demand for dedicated, large-scale power infrastructure for AI workloads.
Fermi's business model centers on stable, high-capacity power delivery. Behind-the-meter generation reduces reliance on fluctuating grid prices and offers predictable operating costs for hyperscalers—a competitive advantage difficult to replicate quickly at scale.
McIntire's background managing large, complex engineering projects is directly relevant to the build-out ahead. Project Matador's execution—on schedule and within budget—will determine Fermi's long-term profitability in the specialized AI infrastructure sector.
