Fermi names Lee McIntire as CEO after four-month leadership vacuum

Fermi Inc. appoints independent board member Lee McIntire as chief executive officer, ending a four-month leadership vacuum following the ouster of co-founder Toby Neugebauer. McIntire, former CEO of TerraPower and CH2M HILL, will oversee the construction of Project Matador, an AI and nuclear power campus in Texas. Despite the appointment, Fermi Inc. faces ongoing legal and proxy disputes with Neugebauer, its largest shareholder. The leadership news and a new customer lease have boosted Fermi's stock by nearly 23%.

Lee McIntire CEO appointment

• ▪Fermi Inc. appointed independent board member Lee McIntire as its new chief executive officer on August 11, 2026.
• ▪During the four-month interim period before Lee McIntire's appointment, Fermi Inc. operated under a co-presidency structure that split chief executive duties.
• ▪Fermi Inc. board chairman Marius Haas stated that Lee McIntire is the ideal executive to lead the company's next phase of construction and power delivery.

Toby Neugebauer ouster

• ▪Alongside Toby Neugebauer's ouster in April 2026, Fermi Inc. chief financial officer Miles Everson was also pushed out of the company.
• ▪Fermi Inc. fired co-founder Toby Neugebauer from the chief executive officer position in April 2026 as part of a strategic overhaul branded 'Fermi 2.0.'

Ongoing governance disputes

• ▪Ongoing legal disputes between Toby Neugebauer and the Fermi Inc. board require new chief executive officer Lee McIntire to manage a potentially adversarial major shareholder.
• ▪Ousted co-founder Toby Neugebauer remains Fermi Inc.'s largest shareholder and continues a suspended proxy campaign against the company.

Project Matador AI campus

• ▪Fermi Inc. signed TensorWave on August 10, 2026, as its first binding customer lease for the Project Matador campus.
• ▪Fermi Inc., co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, is developing Project Matador, an AI and nuclear power campus in Amarillo, Texas.
• ▪Fermi Inc. is targeting between 11 and 17 gigawatts of combined data center and power generation capacity for its HyperGrid campus in the Texas Panhandle.
• ▪Fermi Inc.'s stock price rose nearly 23% between August 10, 2026, and August 12, 2026, following the announcement of Lee McIntire's appointment and the signing of its first binding customer lease.

McIntire nuclear energy background

• ▪Lee McIntire has over 40 years of experience in engineering and infrastructure, previously serving as chief executive officer of CH2M HILL and TerraPower.
• ▪Lee McIntire's background at the Bill Gates-backed nuclear venture TerraPower is intended to help Fermi Inc. navigate regulatory and engineering challenges for its nuclear energy portfolio.