The Platform for Digital and Quantum Innovation of Quebec (PINQ²) has appointed Marie-Claude Messier as Executive Director, effective January 13, 2025. Messier brings over 20 years of experience in Information Technology, e-Business, and e-Health, with a strong background in business launches and market development. She succeeds Éric Capelle, who resigned to focus on community development projects. Julie Lavoie, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of PINQ², expressed confidence in Messier’s leadership to guide the organization toward a promising future in digital and quantum technologies. A news release from PINQ² announcing her appointment can be accessed here.
Spectral Capital has made two significant appointments to its executive team. Dr. Moshik Cohen has been named Chief Technology Officer, bringing extensive experience in data science and machine learning. He will lead the development of Spectral’s AI-driven investment strategies. Additionally, Aaron Christensen has joined as Chief Revenue Officer to spearhead the global expansion of Vogon Cloud Solutions, a subsidiary of Spectral Capital. Christensen’s background includes over two decades in technology sales and business development, with a focus on cloud services and enterprise solutions. A news release announcing Dr. Cohen’s appointment can be seen here, and a news release announcing Mr. Christensen’s appointment is available here.
PQShield, a leader in post-quantum cryptography (PQC), has expanded its leadership team to accelerate growth into 2025. Antonio J. Viana, former Arm executive, joins the board as Non-Executive Director. The strategic advisory board welcomes Mike Muller, co-founder and former CTO of Arm; Rose Schooler, former CVP at Intel and current Arm board member; and Ian Drew, former chairman at Foundries.io and CMO at Arm. These appointments aim to support PQShield’s global commercial growth and the adoption of PQC across critical sectors. A news release from PQShield announcing this expansion can be found here.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Dario Gil to be the Undersecretary of Science at the U.S. Department of Energy, a position which will require confirmation from the U.S. Senate. The Department of Energy’s Office of Science has a mission to deliver scientific discoveries and major scientific tools to transform our understanding of nature and advance the energy, economic, and national security of the United States. It is the country’s largest federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and a major supporter of research in such key scientific fields as physics, materials science, computing, and chemistry. Dr. Gil is currently an IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research and has been with IBM for the past 21 years. In his role at IBM he is leading the company’s innovation efforts in hybrid cloud, AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, and exploratory science and soon will have the opportunity to do this at an even large scale for the U.S. government.
We wish all these organizations and individuals success in their new endeavors.
January 17, 2025
