LEADERSHIP TEAM

Prof. Ian Walmsley is Chairman of the ORCA Computing Board and a leading figure in quantum optics, quantum memories and waveguide circuits. He is Provost of Imperial College, London, an Honorary Fellow at St Hugh’s College, Oxford and a Fellow of the Royal Society, The Optical Society, the Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society. Previously, he was President of the Optical Society of America, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Hooke Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Oxford and Director of the NQIT (Networked Quantum Information Technologies) hub. Prof. Walmsley is recognised for developing the SPIDER technique for characterising ultra-fast laser pulses.

Richard co-founded ORCA Computing in 2019. He is an accomplished business executive and technologist with a PhD in quantum atom-optics and over 15 years of experience managing scientific teams working on disruptive early-stage technologies such as quantum, AR/VR and other consumer and industrial applications of photonics. Under his leadership, the company has grown to 45 people, expanded globally and developed a roadmap focused on building a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer. Previously, Richard worked for the UK government alongside Sir Peter Knight creating the £270m UK quantum technologies programme. He was also pivotal in the early stages of the €1 billion EU quantum flagship programme.

Josh co-founded ORCA Computing in 2019. As CSO, he heads up the company’s scientific and technical vision. Previously he was a Reader in Photonics at the Department of Physics at the University of Bath, where his research focused on quantum light-matter interactions. Prior to this, he was a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, running the Photonics programme for the UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Quantum Computing where his team invented the ORCA memory. He has published papers on quantum state and process tomography, quantum thermodynamics and quantum key distribution, and has patents licensed on microwave-to-optical conversion and random number generation.

As CCO, Per is responsible for leading the global commercial strategy and driving and accelerating growth. He is a well-known figure in advanced computing and an experienced leader with a demonstrated track record of sustained growth at the intersection of technology, industry, and business strategy. Per has three decades of experience in the development of market strategy, product introduction, organisational development and go-to-market execution with leading-edge technologies including machine learning, cloud and supercomputing. Previously he spent 17 years at the supercomputing leader Cray where he became Vice President with responsibilities for global commercial strategy in artificial intelligence, cloud and industry vertical markets.

Mike is responsible for strategic planning, corporate development and operations at ORCA Computing. He has over 30 years of experience as a leader of multiple corporate functions, start-up technology company CEO, private and public company general counsel, large-firm attorney and engineer. He has a deep background in corporate securities and finance, venture capital, and mergers and acquisitions, and has had significant involvement with corporate and business development, technology and licensing transactions, sales channel development, government engagement efforts, and building and managing IP assets. Previously, Mike spent 10 years in the high-performance computing industry on the leadership team of Cray.

As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at ORCA Computing, Thien-An Nguyen spearheads the company’s technological advancements and translates innovative ideas into tangible products. With a robust background encompassing both software and hardware development, Thien-An leverages a couple decades of experience to drive the development of cutting-edge technologies. His expertise lies in shepherding concepts from inception through the phases of prototyping and into full-fledged product realization. Prior to his role at ORCA Computing, Thien-An served as the Vice President of R&D Strategy at GXC, where he led the photonics division in delivering solutions across diverse sectors including AI accelerators, telecommunications, biomedical sensors, electronic warfare, signals intelligence, and spectroscopy. With a proven track record of delivering breakthrough solutions, Thien-An has been instrumental in advancing novel device architectures such as integrated photonics and multi-material fibres. His passion for fusing diverse research disciplines fuels his commitment to delivering impactful quantum-enhanced capabilities tailored to address multifaceted challenges across numerous customer industries.