Quantum Companies Attracting World-Class Advisors, Board Members

Insider Brief

• Atom Computing, Oxford Ionics and Qrypt recently announced new board appointments.
• Increasingly advisors and directors are leaders in their fields who recognize the disruptive nature of quantum technologies.
• The appointments are bringing new insights from established organizations into young and emerging quantum startups.

Quantum companies and startups are not having trouble attracting advisers and board of director members to this emerging and — as yet — unproven industry.

Just this week, several quantum companies — including Atom Computing, Oxford Ionics and Qrypt — announced key additions to their boards of directors and advisors. The appointees are drawn from leadership positions spanning private and public spheres.

Atom Computing reported that Ken Braithwaite, former Secretary of the Navy, was added its board of directors and Greg Muhlner joined as vice president of public sector to lead U.S. government engagement.

Atom Computing’s CEO Rob Hays said the addition of Braithwaite and Muhlner reflects the importance of government in the quantum computing industry.

“The United States has a vibrant quantum ecosystem thanks, in part, to investments the federal government has made in quantum computing research and development, workforce initiatives, and procurement,” he said. “Public-private partnership with our company will help to advance the technology and ensure U.S. leadership in this area of strategic importance. Ken (Braithwaite) and Greg (Muhlner) have extensive federal government experience that will help position Atom Computing as the premier partner to the U.S. in winning the race to large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing.”

Atom Computing has established extensive collaborations with the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation.

Braithwaite was sworn in as the Secretary of the Navy in 2020 and previously served as a U.S. ambassador to Norway. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1984 and was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. Braithwaite left active duty in 1993 but continued his service in the Navy Reserve while holding several leadership positions in private industry.

“Quantum computing is a disruptive technology that will redefine computing and the complexity of problems that we can solve,” Braithwaite said. “For our national security and to fuel our economy, it is imperative the United States and its allies win the quantum computing race.  I am proud to serve on Atom Computing’s board of directors to help the company achieve its mission in this critical new domain.”

Muhlner was Vice President of Sales for Rebellion Defense and previously led Navy and U.S. Marine Corps sales at Amazon Web Services. He also served as a Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) Officer.

Qrypt announced the appointment of Christopher Moretti, vice president of global technology and cloud transformation at Evernorth Health Services, a division of The Cigna Group, to Qrypt’s board of advisors. Prior to this, Qrypt appointed longtime Verizon leader Ken Dixon to its board of advisors.

Moretti held the position of Managing Director of Global Networks at JPMorgan Chase & Co. before he was hired at Evernorth and held executive leadership roles during his 14-year career at General Electric and its subsidiaries, supporting insurance, consumer and commercial banking sectors. Additionally, Moretti serves as a board member and co-chair of ONUG, a collective voice of IT executives from the largest global public companies.

Moretti said that the power of emerging technologies, such as quantum, drew him to the field.

“With the emergence of cutting-edge technologies such as generative AI and quantum computing in industries handling personal and sensitive data, it has become evident the time for disruption in data security practices is now,” stated Moretti. “Qrypt, with its strong leadership, vision and highly respected research partnerships, is at the forefront of security innovation, protecting data from current and future threats with advanced data processing techniques. By joining Qrypt’s board, I am eager to lend my enterprise expertise to address urgent and critical data security concerns in healthcare and beyond.”

Oxford Ionics also announced the appointment Dipesh Patel, the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of ARM, as a non-executive director. The company, which has a strategic partnership with Infineon Technologies, announced as £2 million fund raise from the UK’s long-term capital investment program for strategic technologies. Patel brings deep experience in managing technology teams, the company reported.