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Scott White is an experienced serial entrepreneur, with direct involvement in 11 technology start-ups and scale-ups. He is an advisor at several venture investors, and a member of the UK Government's Semiconductor Advisory Panel. In 2010, Scott founded Pragmatic Semiconductor, which he built into the world leader in flexible semiconductors, with over 300 staff and the UK’s first ever state-of-the-art 300mm wafer fab. Scott raised more than $400 million for Pragmatic, including the largest ever European semiconductor venture round of more than $240 million. In his free time, he likes to run ultra marathons.
Aparna Prabhakar is a Board member at QuantWare and the Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer for Schneider Electric’s $32B Energy Management business. She previously served as Vice President of IBM’s Quantum Ecosystem, where she launched IBM’s quantum business strategy and built a global network of more than 200 partners from the ground up. Aparna brings deep expertise in scaling frontier technologies, strategic leadership, and ecosystem development.
Beau-Anne Chilla is a Partner at FORWARD.one, a deeptech venture capital firm specialised in hardware propositions. She holds an Msc in Industrial Engineering from the University of Groningen and started her career at Adyen before moving into venture capital. Besides her work as an investor she sits on the board of the Dutch semipublic sustainability institution Milieu Centraal.
Matthijs Rijlaarsdam co-founded QuantWare after working in the Elkouss Group at QuTech, where he conducted his thesis project on the simulation of quantum computers. Before entering the quantum field, he worked in non-profit strategy consulting, bringing a rigorous, mission-driven approach to technology ventures. He holds an MSc in Computer Science with a specialization in Quantum Information and Data Science.
Dr. Rami Barends is a leading figure in quantum computing research and a scientific advisor to QuantWare. He is an author of the landmark Google Quantum Supremacy paper and serves as a lead researcher at Google Quantum AI. He is also a Director at the Peter Grünberg Institute, contributing to the global advancement of quantum technologies.
Professor Charles M. Marcus is an internationally recognized leader in quantum engineering. He previously served as Director of Microsoft Quantum, the Peter Grünberg Institute, and the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems. He is currently a professor at the Niels Bohr Institute and was the first non-Dane to receive the prestigious Ørsted Gold Medal.
Jean-Pierre Pennacino is QuantWare’s CFO, bringing decades of global financial leadership to the company. He previously served as CFO of MedAlliance and as Group Vice President of Finance at STMicroelectronics. Over his career, he has led more than $3 billion in M&A and financing transactions across high-growth technology sectors.
Hugo is QuantWare's Chief Operations Officer. Being trained as mechanical engineer, Hugo first mastered Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma at automotive corporates. For the last 12 years, he managed Operations, Quality and Development at various high-tech hardware startups, mostly in Additive Manufacturing.
Matthijs Rijlaarsdam co-founded QuantWare after working in the Elkouss Group at QuTech, where he conducted his thesis project on the simulation of quantum computers. Before entering the quantum field, he worked in non-profit strategy consulting, bringing a rigorous, mission-driven approach to technology ventures. He holds an MSc in Computer Science with a specialization in Quantum Information and Data Science.
Bart is QuantWare's Head of Marketing, responsible for bringing QuantWare's technological advancements known to the wider community. He holds a master's degree in Applied Physics from the TU Delft, and completed his thesis at QuTech in the group of Prof. Leo DiCarlo. Before joining QuantWare, he gained diverse experience — from teaching physics to high-school students to exploring hedging strategies for exchange rate volatility at a global currency fund — giving him a unique interdisciplinary perspective. In his free time, he likes to run and play squash.
Tom Wilson leads QuantWare’s commercial strategy with more than 30 years of experience in the semiconductor and advanced computing industries. He previously served as Chief Commercial Officer at Paragraf and as Vice President of Business Development at Graphcore, where he helped scale frontier semiconductor technologies into global markets.
Fernanda Groenendijk is QuantWare’s VP People & Culture. She brings over 30 years of international experience in HR and Change Management in scale-ups and larger corporations. She holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology from San Diego State University (USA). Fernanda has a track record of driving people strategies that directly contribute to business results creating a strong performance and engagement culture in hyper-growth environments.
Wouter Wesselink is VP of Product at QuantWare, where he leads product development. He holds a cum laude MSc in Applied Physics from TU Delft, specialising in quantum amplifiers. Before joining QuantWare, he headed a 150+ consultant non-profit strategy consulting firm. As one of QuantWare’s early team members, Wouter has played a pivotal role in scaling the company.
With a background in quantum physics and superconducting qubit design, Marten has played a central role in the company’s QPU development. He brings a track record of innovation across aerospace, finance, and automotive, including his tenure as chief engineer of the Delft Solar Car Team, where he led the team to victory in the World Solar Challenge. As VP of R&D, Marten oversees technology development aimed at removing scaling bottlenecks and enabling QPUs to reach true utility scale.
Joe leads QuantWare’s sales execution and customer engagement with more than 30 years of experience in the semiconductor and high-tech industries. He previously served as VP Sales & Marketing of two public companies (Tundra Semiconductor & Carsem Malaysia), where he was responsible for both achieving revenue targets and enabling higher levels of strategic customer engagement. He bring significant international experience with time spent in NA, EMEA and APAC.
