IonQ has announced several major changes across its R&D, operations, and board structures:
- Mihir Bhaskar has stepped into the new role of Senior Vice President of Global R&D. Following the acquisition of Lightsynq (which he founded), Bhaskar will now be in charge of R&D activities across quantum computing, networking, and sensing. An announcement is available here.
- Chris Ballance has been promoted to President of Quantum Computing, where he will focus on accelerating IonQ’s path to market-making and fault-tolerant quantum computers. An announcement is available here.
- Dr. Marco Pistoia has been appointed CEO of IonQ Italia, as the company continues to deepen its investments and expansion across the EMEA region.4 This was announced during the company’s Q3 2025 Financial Results.
- General John W. “Jay” Raymond, former Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force and widely referred to as the “Father of the Space Force,” has been appointed to IonQ’s Board of Directors. His expertise will support IonQ’s expanding partnerships with governments and defense agencies across quantum and space operations. A news release is available here.
IQM Quantum Computers has made two notable appointments to its Quantum Council, a strategic advisory body. Claudia Nemat, former Deutsche Telekom Board of Management member for technology and innovation, has been named the new Chairwoman, succeeding Dr. Axel Thierauf. Additionally, Dr. Antti Vasara, former president of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, also joins the council as a member. Their combined experience will support IQM’s efforts towards fault-tolerant quantum computing and ecosystem development. A news release announcing the appointments is available here.
Quantum Fabrix (QFX), a University of Oxford spin-out, has made two key executive appointments following its £2 million seed funding round. Dr. Timothy Ballance has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, joining from Infleqtion where he served as President – UK. Sadie Mansell has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, also joining from Infleqtion, where she was Director of Operations. Their combined expertise will drive the company’s mission to deliver modular quantum technologies for trapped ion and neutral atom systems. An announcement detailing the appointments and funding is available here.
NVIDIA has appointed Krysta Svore as Vice President, Applied Research — Quantum Computing. After nearly two decades at Microsoft, Svore will now lead applied research and engineering across the quantum stack at NVIDIA, focusing on accelerating fault-tolerant quantum supercomputing. Her announcement is available here.
Quantum Elements announced the appointment of quantum industry pioneer Dr. Chad Rigetti to its Board of Directors. Rigetti, founder of Sygaldry and former CEO and founder of Rigetti Computing, will provide strategic vision and guidance as the company builds its AI-native platform to make quantum software development more efficient and accessible. An announcement on his appointment is available here.
QuSecure has officially welcomed Dr. Garfield Jones, D.Eng., as its new Senior Vice President of Research and Technology Strategy. Dr. Jones, formerly with CISA (within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security), was instrumental in developing the federal post-quantum cryptography guidance. His expertise in government mission requirements and crypto agility will help scale QuSecure’s technology strategy across critical sectors. The announcement is available here.
We wish all these organizations and individuals success in their new endeavors.
November 14, 2025