MPR’s founders insisted that technical conclusions and recommendations be based on first principles and not be unduly compromised by external considerations. Our clients have grown to consider MPR’s rigorous approach to be the gold standard.
Epitomizing our Founders’ values and passion for excellence, MPR is led by Principal Officers: Bob Coward, Tom Lubnow, and R. Jason Gwaltney.
Bob Coward
Bob Coward has been serving as Principal Officer at MPR Associates since 2009. In this capacity, he guides MPR’s performance across all engineering and business sectors. Throughout his MPR tenure, which began in 1983, Bob has dedicated his career to the design, evaluation and development of nuclear power plants, and the beneficial uses of nuclear energy across the economy. Prior to becoming Principal Officer, Bob was VP of Nuclear Power where his and his team’s contributions can be seen at more than 100 electric generating plants worldwide, including every nuclear power plant in the U.S. His leadership and technical expertise spans performance, safety analysis, project management, and new nuclear power plant design, licensing, and deployment. Recognized as an industry leader in the safe, reliable, and effective operation of the U.S. nuclear power fleet, Bob has made influential contributions to the industry’s strong performance record, serving on key industry committees and boards, including the NEI Nuclear Strategic Issues Advisory Committee and Board of Directors. He is also a Past-President of the American Nuclear Society, representing industry and the nuclear energy community with US and international stakeholders and leaders, as well as leading the reshaping of the Society to increase its benefits to members and stakeholders. He has held leading roles on transformative projects, such as the EPRI Advanced Light Water program, the Department of Energy NP2010 Program, and numerous current programs to develop and deploy small modular reactors as a fundamental element of the US decarbonization strategy. In addition to his technical and business leadership contributions, Bob is committed to mentoring and developing industry leading and visionary talent at MPR. He is dedicated to employees’ professional development and pursuit of their career paths and also to empowering them to achieve the MPR mission to shape the future of the industries in which they work. Bob sees exciting and accelerating industry transformation across all of the industries MPR supports. His energy and leadership is focused on maintaining MPR at the forefront of those evolving industries, enabling clients to adapt, excel, and deliver solutions that change the world around us. Bob graduated with honors from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering.
Tom Lubnow
A respected and influential industry expert and trusted advisor, Tom Lubnow serves as Principal Officer at MPR Associates. Before being named a Principal Officer, Tom led MPR’s Power Services business as Vice President where he held technical, administrative, and commercial responsibilities in power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, grid transformation and the deployment of distributed energy resources. He also co-founded and served as an officer and board member of MPR’s former liquified natural gas subsidiary CH·IV International. With a career spanning more than three decades, Tom describes his role at MPR as a series of dynamic 5-to-6-year sprints. He has anticipated changes in the energy landscape and periodically redirected his project work to new and diverse business areas, thereby expanding MPR's industry influence. Leading contract negotiation, project management and technical work, Tom supervised projects contributing to more than 20,000 MWe of new power generation, performed technical due diligence for debt and equity investment decisions on more than 300 plants, and has led MPR projects in over a dozen countries. He led the technical due diligence team for the $12B U.S. DOE Loan Guarantee financing of Vogtle Nuclear Power Station Units 3 and 4, served as Design Manager for the initial stages of design of a $3B greenfield uranium enrichment plant, and led an operational excellence initiative to transform a utility project delivery organization responsible for approximately $1B of annual transmission and distribution spend. Throughout his career, Tom focused on leading new MPR business areas and fostering client relationships. He emphasized the importance of deeply understanding client businesses and life-long learning. He fosters an environment marked by both curiosity and excellence, encouraging his team to approach clients’ businesses with a fresh perspective and an opportunity for fun, learning and career growth. Tom envisions a future characterized by pioneering innovations and advancements in the energy sector, particularly in enhanced electrification and decarbonization. By applying MPR’s engineering and management expertise to these real-world challenges, he believes that enduring societal benefits can be achieved while growing MPR’s next generation into energy leaders. Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Mechanics and a Master of Science degree in Materials Engineering, both from Virginia Tech.
R. Jason Gwaltney
As a principal officer at MPR Associates, R. Jason Gwaltney brings a wealth of expertise and leadership to the executive office. With his deep understanding of MPR’s mission, vision and business operations, Jason shapes and drives the firm’s strategic initiatives. Jason’s MPR career began with a focus on large-scale capital construction projects for the nuclear industry, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Leveraging these experiences, he helped found and lead MPR’s Project Services line of business. In this capacity, he spearheaded the development of MPR’s project scheduling, cost estimating, and risk management capabilities. A number of years ago, Jason was appointed Vice President of Business Operations overseeing MPR’s administrative departments. In a multifaceted role, he directed engineering projects, business operations and administration. He developed MPR’s proprietary MAPS software program, which is used across the company for project and business modeling and forecasting. Most recently, Jason helped establish the Data Analytics and Visualization team. This innovation group works to advance MPR’s capabilities in translating complex datasets and making them more accessible, designing interactive dashboards for employees and clients. From his early days working on large-scale projects to strategic leadership in data analytics, Jason has sought opportunities at MPR that aligned with his passions and strengths, illustrating MPR’s commitment to career self-determination and individualized career paths. As a leader, Jason fosters the MPR culture of creativity and provides mentorship to employees at all levels to help them navigate and design their careers. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech and earned a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University.