Thomas Jennewein, CEO (Technology, IP)

Thomas Jennewein completed his PhD thesis in 2002 at the University of Vienna, focusing on quantum communication and teleportation experiments with entangled photon pairs. In 2003 he transitioned to industry and worked as an engineering consultant in the automotive sector in and near Munich, pioneering next-generation multimedia systems at Audi. In 2004 he was a senior researcher at the Vienna branch of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) working on quantum photonics experiments such as the generation of entangled photons with parametric down conversion and the long distance transmission of photons over optical fiber and free space. In 2006 he received a Linkage International Fellowship from the Australian Research Council enabling him to spend a six-month period in 2007 and 2008 with the University of Queensland. In March 2009 Thomas took a position as Associate Professor in the Physics Department at the University of Waterloo and became a member of the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC). He is a highly qualified electronics and software specialist and has designed and built many novel research instruments, including single photon detectors as well as coincidence electronics. Thomas is passionate about UQD and wants to share the unique instruments he has designed for his own experiments with other researchers.

Steve MacDonald, COO (Management, Finance)

Steve MacDonald is experienced in various sectors including research, financial services and transportation.  A fellow of the society of management accountants, Steve also has a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. His background is expansive including, Chief Operating Officer at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), formerly VP roles in Finance for various organizations including kidsLINK, CIBC Mellon and Clarica Life Insurance. This is his Steve’s first participation in a start-up venture.
Raymond Laflamme, CSO (Strategy)

Raymond Laflamme OC was born in Quebec City and did his undergraduate studies in Physics at Université Laval. He later moved to Cambridge, England where he survived Part III of Mathematical Tripos before doing a PhD in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) under the direction of Prof. Stephen Hawking. After PDFs in Vancouver and Cambridge, he spent nine years at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2001 he moved to Waterloo as the Founding Director of the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) that he lead until 2017. He is also a member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and a Professor in the Physics and Astronomy department at the University of Waterloo. Ray is Canada Research Chair (CRC) and the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis “John von Neumann” Chair in Quantum Information.

Ray has lead Quantumworks and a CIFAR quantum program, pan Canadian networks in quantum information. He has advised academia, government and industry from many countries about quantum information and is interested in bringing quantum information science and technology closer to real world applications by providing high-level instruments to the science and industrial communities.