IQM has announced a co-CEO leadership management structure with Jan Goetz responsible for external relations and fundraising and Mikko Välimäki responsible for commercial operations. Previously Dr. Goetz had been the sole CEO of IQM and was a cofounder of the company which started in 2018. Dr. Välimäki has served on the IQM Board of Directors since 2018 and now steps into his new role. He has founded, led, and served on the board of several technology companies in Finland and has both a has a PhD in software business from Aalto University and a Master’s in law from the University of Helsinki. A press release from IQM announcing this management change can be seen here.
Pasqal has announced that Wasiq Bokhari has been appointed to be Chairman of the Board. He had served as an advisor to the company since September 2023 and before that he held senior positions at Amazon, Google, Draper Nexus Venture Partners, and several startup companies. At Amazon, he was part of the team that started AWS quantum computing efforts. He holds both a B.S. degree in Mathematics and a Ph.D. degree in Physics from MIT and was part of the team that discovered the top quark at Fermilab. In his new role, Dr. Bokhari will be focusing on the company’s business strategy and accelerating interest in Pasqal’s neutral atom technology. The company also announced that Loïc Henriet has been promoted to co-CEO. He had previously been the CTO for the company and has been with the company since 2019 and has a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from École Polytechnique. As part of the changes in the company, it will be creating three divisions for Hardware, Software, and Product. A key part of Dr. Bokhari’s responsibility will be to oversee the operation of these divisions. A news release from Pasqal announcing the changes can be accessed here.
As part of Diraq recent A-2 round funding of $15 million, Quantonation partner Will Zeng will be joining Diraq’s Board of Directors. Dr. Zeng has many years of experience in quantum technology and most recently was the Head of Quantum Research at Goldman Zachs. He is also the Founder and President of the Unitary Fund, a non-profit helping create a quantum technology ecosystem. Before that he was an early team member at Rigetti Computing where he spent several years with his last role as Head of Product. His appointment to the board was included in Diraq’s announcement of its new funding which has been posted on their website here.
Silicon Quantum Computing announced that Simon Segars has been appointed Chairman of their Board of Directors. Mr. Segars spent over 30 years at ARM where he held a variety of senior positions including President and CEO. He also has many years of experience advising and serving on the boards of many corporations and industry associations including Dolby Laboratories, Electronic System Design Alliance (ESDA), Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) and others. The company also announced that Fiona Pak-Poy has joined the company’s Board as the Australian Government’s Shareholder Nominee Board Director. Ms. Pak-Poy has many years of board level experience and is currently a Non-Executive Director at WiseTech Global, the Chair at Tyro Payments, and has served on several other boards and committees in Australia. Silicon Quntum Computing’s announcement of their two joining the company’s board can be found here.
February 17, 2024