Ben Bloom has been named interim CEO of Atom Computing succeeding Rob Hays who has left the company. Dr. Bloom founded the company in 2018 and served as its initial CEO. He has been the CTO since 2021. Before Atom Computing, he has previous experience at Rigetti Computing, Intel, and JILA where he helped to build the first Optical Lattice Clock. An updated web page showing the company’s current executive leadership has been posted on the company’s website here.

Charles Tahan has joined Microsoft Quantum where he will be leading a technical team in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Previously, Dr. Tahan had served as the Director of the National Quantum Coordination Office within the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy. Before that he held several executive technical positions at the Laboratory for Physical Sciences, an organization formed in partnership with the University of Maryland. He also spent time with Booz Allen Hamilton. A LinkedIn posting from him announcing his joining Microsoft can be be seen here.

Pat Tang has been named Chief Engineering Officer at Infleqtion. He will be responsible for driving Infleqtion’s delivery of cutting-edge, commercial-ready quantum products. He previously was the Vice-President of R&D at IonQ and before that served as the VP of Engineering at Amazon Lab126. He also has additional experience at Photonic Link and Apple. A news release from Infleqtion announcing that Dr. Tang has joined the company can be accessed here.

Dean Kassmann has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technology at IonQ. Dr. Kassmann joined IonQ in 2021 as a Vice-President of Engineering where he directed his team in achieving several of the company’s technical milestones. Before joining IonQ he worked in senior technical roles at aerospace company Blue Origin and before that worked at Amazon and Aspen Technology. A news release from IonQ announcing his promotion is available here.

Juliette Peyronnet has been named U.S. General Manager for Alice & Bob based in Boston taking over from Blaise Vignon. The U.S. office was established last year to work on business development in North America. Ms. Peyronnet has a background in photonic physics and previously served as a business development lead for Xanadu. Before that she worked in organizations that helped French startups launch and scale in the U.S. market. A LinkedIn post announcing her new position can be seen here.

Peter Leek has been appointed as Chief Scientific Officer at Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC). Dr. Leek is a founder of OQC has been a scientific advisor to the company since 2017 while continuing his research at the University of Oxford. He helped develop some of the core IP the company uses in its technology. He will be continuing to work with the OQC team as they develop universal fault tolerant quantum computation. A news release from OQC announcing his appointment can be accessed here.

Elizabeth Green has joined QuSecure as Senior Vice President for Customers and Ecosystems. She will be helping to drive the delivery of the company’s crypto-agile, quantum-resistant cybersecurity enterprise platform to global customers. She has extensive experience directing sales of enterprise software and cybersecurity products at her previous organizations including Accenture, Wipro Limited, CrossView Inc., and IBM. A news release from QuSecure announcing her joining the company is available here.

Derron Blakely has named General Counsel at Zapata AI to support the company’s growth as it expands its offerings, customer pipeline, and partnership network. Mr. Blakely has experience in many legal areas including government procurement, intellectual property, litigation, and M&A from his previous experience at organizations including C3 AI, Elbit Systems of America, and several law firms. A news release welcoming Mr. Blakely to the company has been posted on Zapata’s website here.

We wish all these folks great success in their new roles.

June 29, 2024