Photonic is Hiring Global Quantum Leaders in Key Leadership Roles

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from Business Wire

Published on May 2, 2024 • 4 minutes reading time

Photonic’s leadership team is deepening Accelerate the development and deployment of quantum computing and networking milestones

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Photonic Inc., a leader in distributed quantum computing in silicon, today announced that it is expanding its leadership team with industry leaders in research and development, materials science, quantum technologies, marketing, human resources and legal.

“Photonic has searched intensively for the right talent to help us achieve our ambitious goals. We are confident that with such high caliber people filling these roles and our ongoing scientific advisory team, we will further accelerate progress on our path to making distributed quantum computing a commercial reality,” said Dr. Paul Terry, CEO of Photonic Officer.

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“The quantum industry is beginning to recognize the need for distributed quantum capabilities. Photonic’s architecture is unique in this respect and it is exciting that industry veterans and innovators are recognizing this potential and joining the relentless pursuit of scalable, distributed and fault-tolerant commercial quantum computing,” said Dr. Stephanie Simmons, Founder and Chief Quantum Officer of Photonic and Co-Chair of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy Advisory Board.

In the areas of research and development, materials science and quantum networks:

Dr. Chantal Arena joins as Vice President of Research, Development and Manufacturing – Devices. Arena has 35 years of experience in business strategy, materials science and semiconductor device manufacturing, most recently as co-CEO and chief technical officer at Lawrence Semiconductors. She holds a PhD in Materials Science and Physics from the Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, France.

Dr. Klaus Schuegraf takes over the position of Vice President for Research, Development and Production – Systems. Schuegraf has more than 30 years of experience driving innovation in semiconductor technology development and leading large technical teams at companies such as PsiQuantum, Intel, SanDisk, Applied Materials and Cymer/ASML. He holds a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

The quantum network pioneer Dr. Thomas Jennewein is one of Photonic’s scientific staff. As Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) and scientific lead of the Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) – Canada’s first quantum communications satellite – Jennewein shapes the company’s quantum network strategy. He is a professor at Simon Fraser University and the Institute for Quantum Computing. He holds a PhD in physics from the University of Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Michael Thewalt is also a research associate at Photonic; He is the world expert on the optical properties of isotopically enriched silicon-28, the material that forms Photonic’s scalable quantum technology architecture. Thewalt, a professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University, co-founded Photonic with Stephanie Simmons and held an NSERC Industrial Research Chair for over 10 years. Thewalt holds a PhD in physics from the University of British Columbia.

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As a research associate at Photonic, Dr. Artem (Art) Cherkasov on board, a Canada First Research Chair in Precision Cancer Drug Design, senior scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Center and professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Cherkasov will provide Photonic with his expertise in computational drug discovery (CADD) and the discovery of new cancer therapeutics – with a focus on how quantum technologies will add value in these areas. He holds a doctorate in chemistry from Kazan State University.

In the areas of marketing, human resources and legal:

Alison Berg, originally a member of Photonic’s leadership team and initially serving as vice president of human resources and communications, has been appointed to the newly created position of chief marketing officer to focus on increasing the company’s brand awareness and positioning. She has an MBA in marketing.

Jessica Hodgson takes on the leadership role in human resources as Photonic’s Vice President of People. She brings nearly two decades of experience scaling organizations to further expand Photonic’s global workforce.

Photonic’s legal strategy is led by Neysa Finnie, Vice President of Legal, who has extensive experience and expertise working with Fortune 50 companies and well-funded startups. Finnie holds a JD/LL.B and an MBA from the University of Ottawa and began her career in computer science at the University of Waterloo.

About Photonics

Photonic is building one of the first scalable, distributed, fault-tolerant and unified quantum computing and networking platforms based solely on optically connected silicon spin qubits. Photonic’s architecture provides a native telecommunications network interface and silicon manufacturability. With more than 130 employees, Photonic has built one of the world’s largest teams of quantum silicon experts and assembled an incredible roster of consultants and collaborators. Multinational partners and investors bring the advantages of global infrastructure, proven platforms and resources necessary to scale a business led by innovators with extensive experience in commercializing breakthrough technologies. Photonic is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and also has offices in the United States and the United Kingdom. To learn more about the company, visit www.photonic.com.