Big Watt Digital has announced three major presidential appointments, selecting executives whose track records span SMR nuclear energy, large-scale project management, and high-energy digital infrastructure. The new additions strengthen a leadership structure aimed at converging power generation with data center development.
The three roles go to Michael J. Miller, appointed President and Head of Power & Utility; Shirin O’Connor, appointed President of Data Center Development & Construction; and Kerry Feinberg, appointed President of Data Center Operations. Three distinct roles, three complementary areas of expertise — for a company positioning itself at the intersection of energy and digital infrastructure.
O’Connor’s profile is the one most directly tied to nuclear energy. Before joining Big Watt, she served as Corporate Vice President of Engineering, Supply Chain, and Construction for Microsoft‘s Cloud and AI Infrastructure group, overseeing multi-billion-dollar capital programs and tripling compute capacity across more than 350 data centers in over 70 regions worldwide. Her career, however, is firmly rooted in the energy sector: she previously held senior leadership roles at Air Products and Fluor, where she led engineering operations, megaproject execution, and the commercial deployment of SMR nuclear technology. She currently serves as an independent board member at MYR Group.
The decision to integrate SMR expertise and digital infrastructure management under one roof is no coincidence. The technology sector’s electricity consumption is growing rapidly, and major data center operators are increasingly eyeing nuclear power as a stable, low-emissions energy source that is insulated from the volatility of renewable energy markets. Having someone on staff who has already worked across the SMR design and delivery chain means the company can engage directly with builders and regulators — without relying solely on outside consultants.
Miller strengthens the utility side of the equation, while Feinberg brings operational expertise needed to translate power generation into reliable, real-world availability for data centers. The team’s architecture is designed to cover the full cycle — from power source to server room. It is a vertically integrated approach that many players in the sector are pursuing, but few are building with this depth of hands-on nuclear experience.
If this trajectory holds, Big Watt Digital is well-positioned to capture the demand for reliable energy that the data center market will generate in the years ahead. Having an executive with concrete SMR deployment experience at the decision-making table could prove decisive when small modular reactors move from the licensing phase into active construction. And for many projects currently underway in the United States, that moment is not far off.
