Robert B. Castle

***** *. ******** ***.

Chicago, Il 60643

773-***-**** (home)

312-***-**** (cell)

adlmns@r.postjobfree.com

CAREER SUMMARY

Employee Relations/Human Resources Executive with extensive experience and increasing responsibility: first at Inland Steel, at the time the largest, single-site basic steel manufacturing plant in the United States, with a workforce of over 18,000 unionized and 7,000 management employees; then, at NiSource, a major Midwestern/Eastern energy production and delivery company; then, at Exelon, the largest energy production and delivery company (with the largest/best performing nuclear power plant fleet) in the United States with over 20,000 employees; then, at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) a large, governmental energy production and transmission company in the southeastern United States; and, most recently, at Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation in the United Arab Emirates. Also served as an independent Employee Relations/Human Resources Consultant to companies in the healthcare, transportation, ship building, utility, building supply and nuclear power plant industries.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Employee Relations Consultant September, 2020 to the present

Serving clients in a variety of industries in the following areas: negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements; providing assessments of and recommendations concerning existing Employee Relations processes, Procedures and Policies; developing Employee Relations Strategies and providing Employee Relations/Negotiations training; and, conducting misconduct/EEO investigations.

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) November, 2013 to September 2020

ENEC is the largest nuclear power plant “new build” in the world featuring the construction and operation of four APR-1400 design, 1400 MW Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) situated in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Human Capital Advisor

Responsible for providing advice and counsel to ENEC’s Chief Human Capital Officer in a variety of areas. Specific responsibilities have included:

Human Capital Committee (HCC) Secretary — the HCC is a subcommittee of the Board of Directors that deals with Human Capital issues;

Developing selected Human Capital Policies, Processes & Procedures;

Employee Relations Committee (ERC) Member — Review, discuss and make recommendations concerning employee Final Warning and Termination decisions;

Protocol Group Secretary — the Protocol Group is a committee made up of the operating company’s CEO, CNO, their direct reports and Human Resources leaders. The Protocol Group reviews various HR metrics, then discusses and decides upon warranted follow-up actions;

Conducting “high profile” investigations of misconduct of various types;

Developed/delivered Performance Management training to supervisors and above in ENEC’s Leadership Development Program.

Employee Relations Consultant July, 2012 to November, 2013

Serving clients in a variety of industries in the following areas: negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements, providing assessments of and recommendations concerning existing Employee Relations processes, developing Employee Relations Strategies and providing Employee Relations/Negotiations training.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Knoxville, Tennessee June, 2010 through July, 2012

The largest electric production (hydro, fossil & nuclear), transmission and land management company in the Tennessee Valley region with extensive holdings in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Director, Employee Relations (initially hired as Senior Employee Relations Strategist)

Responsible for developing employee relations strategies, negotiations, investigations, implementation of all TVA Collective Bargaining Agreements and for assessing and improving employee relations processes including union relations.

• Developed the overall negotiations strategy for negotiations with the Engineering Association, one of TVA’s largest unions. The strategy was approved by Senior Management. Developed TVA’s LR Strategy and improvements to TVA’s LR processes and tools.

Labor Relations Consultant August, 2009 through May, 2010

Served large scale clients in the healthcare, building supply and Canadian nuclear generation industries in the following areas: developing a negotiations strategy; negotiating a replacement Agreement; developing union avoidance policies and procedures; developing and presenting union avoidance training; and, assessing and recommending improvements in existing Agreements and employee relations processes.

Exelon, Chicago, Illinois September, 2000 through July, 2009

The leading energy production and delivery company in North America with major operations in Texas, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Recognized as the industry leader by Forbes from 2003 through 2008. The largest and best performing nuclear power plant fleet in the United States with 17 nuclear reactors in operation.

Director of Employee Relations

Responsible for: developing and executing the Employee Relations strategy to support Exelon’s cost reduction efforts; enhancing Employee Relations functional support by developing protocols to improve Employee Relations service fundamentals; and, planning and leading a number of union negotiations to achieve new Collective Bargaining Agreements.

• Led Employee Relations support for a series of Management Rights Initiatives, including reorganizations, revised job descriptions, lay-off procedures and outsourcing, which helped reduce costs by $31 million / year and improve productivity.

• Developed and implemented a series of Employee Relations protocols that improved our arbitration win ratio to over 80% / year, grievance handling, policy and procedure development, training and communications.

• Negotiated a number of ground-breaking Collective Bargaining Agreements with annual savings totaling over $10 million / year.

• Developed an Employee Relations strategy adopted by Senior Management.

• Led / supported Union Avoidance activities at five sites.

• Led an initiative to improve our Energy Delivery call out response through development and implementation of a series of communications and processes. Served as the key company witness in the arbitration over these actions that involved over 1,000 combined grievances. The arbitrator ruled in the company’s favor and our call out response improved from 15% to 40% over 18 months.

• Through new hires, performance management and mentoring strengthened the Employee Relations Department into a first-rate staff support group.

NiSource, Merrillville, Indiana May, 1991 through August, 2000

A major Midwestern / Eastern energy production and delivery company with over 16,000 employees in several states.

Director of Human Resources for the Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO)

A combination gas / electric utility covering the northern one-third of Indiana with over 6,000 employees. Reported directly to the President and COO of NIPSCO and served as the Chief HR Officer. Oversaw a team of 60 Human Resources employees with responsibility for safety and industrial hygiene, skills training and management development, employee relations, workmen’s compensation, employee benefits, compensation, recruitment and selection, the employee assistance program, the attendance program and drug testing.

• Headed the negotiating team and was responsible for negotiations and long-term employee relations strategy development and implementation, including a communications strategy.

• Successfully negotiated a series of competitive agreements without a work stoppage which included variable compensation, medical cost containment and productivity improvement features.

• Led a safety improvement effort which resulted in a fifty percent reduction in NIPSCO’s lost time accident rate each year for three successive years.

• Served as a key member of the Joint Labor / Management Advisory Board responsible for setting the direction and overseeing the implementation of over one hundred Labor / Management problem solving work teams.

• Led a successful Union prevention campaign during a Union organizing drive aimed at NIPSCO’s home security subsidiary.

• Measurably improved the performance of various Human Resources areas by instituting a business planning process focused on establishing and improving key performance indicators.

• Developed an “H.R. Report Card” which identified improvement areas for legal compliance and best practices purposes.

Inland Steel Company, East Chicago, Indiana January, 1983 through April, 1991

A Fortune 100 company with over $3 billion in annual revenues, 25,000 employees and the largest basic steel manufacturing plant in North America.

Manager of Employee Relations

Served as Arbitration Coordinator, Section Manager and, finally, Manager to lead the Employee Relations Department and its 18 member staff.

• Served as a key member of Inland Steel’s negotiating team with subcommittee chief spokesman responsibility in industry wide and local collective bargaining processes.

• Served as chief spokesperson in negotiating numerous innovative side agreements to Inland’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and in negotiations of plant wide grievance settlements.

• Served as a leading member of a task force responsible for successfully preventing the unionization of Inland’s clerical, research technical and plant guard groups during three Union organizing drives.

• Achieved an excellent record (75% win ratio) at arbitration. Total responsibility for preparation and presentation of approximately twenty-four (24) cases per year. Additional responsibility for overseeing the presentation by four subordinates of over forty (40) cases per year in the steel industry expedited arbitration procedure.

• Served as a member of a task force responsible for designing and implementing a program aimed at improving operational performance, communications and our relationship with the bargaining unit workforce and local Union leadership.

EDUCATION

Jurist Doctorate (J.D.) in Law from Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington, Indiana (Admitted to the Bar in the State of Illinois)

Completed one year of study towards a Masters Degree in Public Administration at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs before transferring to the School of Law.

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Psychology / Sociology from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

ORGANIZATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS

Executive Committee Member of the Wharton Research Advisory Group (affiliated with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania) specializing in Human Resources /Employee Relations matters.

Past Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Labor Relations Committee of the American Gas Association.

NIPSCO’s and Exelon’s Representative on the Labor Relations Committee of the Edison Electric Institute.

Member and past President of the Calumet Area Industrial Relations Group.

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