Jay Gambetta, Rajeeb Hazra and Niccolo de Masi: Leading IBM, Quantinuum Ltd and IonQ
Three very different paths
Running a quantum company means managing hard physics, long timelines and public expectations at once. Three current leaders show three routes to the job: a physicist who rose through a research lab, a veteran of the supercomputing and chip industry, and a physics trained executive with a deal making background. This page covers their public roles only. It is not investment advice or a ranking.
Profiles on this site cover public professional activity only, drawn from the sources listed at the bottom. Nothing here suggests any person named has any connection to the QNT memecoin.
Jay Gambetta, IBM Research
IBM announced on September 30, 2025 that Jay Gambetta would become Director of IBM Research effective October 1, reporting to Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna. He succeeded Dario Gil, who was sworn in as US Under Secretary for Science and Innovation at the Department of Energy. IBM's announcement says Gambetta advanced IBM's quantum roadmap over the past decade, moving work from fundamental science into systems, software and services. Krishna wrote that Gambetta "helped establish IBM as a leader in both the science and business of quantum."
Before that, other reports describe him as a vice president of IBM Quantum, named an IBM Fellow in 2018, with earlier faculty roles at Yale and the University of Waterloo. IBM lists AI, semiconductors, hybrid cloud, quantum and the mathematics of computing as research focus areas. The roadmap he is associated with targets the fault tolerant Starling system by 2029. That is a company target, not a result. See IBM's roadmap to Starling.
Rajeeb Hazra, Quantinuum Ltd
Quantinuum announced Rajeeb (Raj) Hazra as chief executive in February 2023, effective immediately, succeeding Ilyas Khan, who moved to a product role and later, per Wikipedia, became vice chair. A 2026 management listing describes Hazra as President and CEO. Reports describe about 25 years at Intel, where he led groups including enterprise and government, technical computing and supercomputer architecture, plus time with Lockheed at NASA Langley and a role at Micron from 2020 to 2023. A profile reports a PhD and master's in computer science from William and Mary and a bachelor's from Jadavpur University in Kolkata, and 16 patents.
Quantinuum was formed in 2021 by combining Honeywell Quantum Solutions with Cambridge Quantum. Wikipedia reports it listed on Nasdaq on June 4, 2026 under the ticker QNT, and that Honeywell retains a large share of voting power. Reports of the opening price and valuation changed with sources, so check filings and the company directly. Its machines are trapped ion systems, see trapped ion computers and Quantinuum Ltd, Helios and the IPO.
Important for this community: the Nasdaq ticker QNT belongs to the real company. The Solana memecoin on this site is an unrelated, independent community token. See memecoin vs company.
Niccolo de Masi, IonQ
IonQ's investor page states that de Masi has been CEO since February 2025 and was named Chairman of the Board in August 2025, after serving on the board from 2021. It describes a physicist by training: first class B.A. and M.Sci degrees in physics from Cambridge, specializing in quantum mechanics. His early roles included JPMorgan, Siemens and Technicolor, and he led Glu Mobile and Monstermob as CEO. IonQ says he has served on the boards of 14 public companies and helped raise over 5 billion dollars in equity for the companies he led.
Reporting also ties him to dMY Technology Group III, the special purpose acquisition company that took IonQ public in 2021, with trading beginning on the NYSE on October 1, 2021. He succeeded Peter Chapman, who became executive chair. IonQ also builds trapped ion systems, in a competitive and sometimes contentious market. See IonQ, Microsoft, PsiQuantum and the rest.
Comparing the three
| Leader | Organization | Role as reported | Path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Gambetta | IBM | Director of IBM Research since October 1, 2025 | Quantum researcher to research director |
| Rajeeb Hazra | Quantinuum Ltd | President and CEO, CEO since February 2023 | Intel, Micron, then quantum |
| Niccolo de Masi | IonQ | Chairman and CEO (CEO since Feb 2025) | Physics, media and deal making |
How to use this information
- Read roadmaps as targets. They are plans that often slip.
- Check titles at the source. Leadership changes happen, see the PsiQuantum example on our hardware bets page.
- Keep company news and memecoin trading apart. This site expresses no view on prices. See QNT risk factors.
The optimistic point stands: major employers, deep benches and serious capital are now organized around quantum, and that is how long projects get finished.
Sources and further reading
- IBM Newsroom: IBM names new Director of IBM Research
- Wikipedia: Quantinuum
- The Quantum Insider: Quantinuum names Raj Hazra CEO
- IonQ investor relations: executive management
- Business Wire: dMY Technology Group III and IonQ close business combination
Reported as of 2026-10-09. Titles and roles change, so check each person's own organization. This page is education, not financial advice, and it is not an endorsement of any person, company or asset. The QNT memecoin is an independent community project with no link to any person or organization named here, including Quantinuum Ltd.
Frequently asked questions
Who runs IBM Research?
Jay Gambetta became Director of IBM Research on October 1, 2025, per IBM's announcement.
Who is the CEO of Quantinuum Ltd?
Rajeeb Hazra, who was named CEO in February 2023 and is described as President and CEO in 2026 sources.
Who is the CEO of IonQ?
Niccolo de Masi, CEO since February 2025 and chairman since August 2025, per IonQ's investor page.
Is the QNT memecoin connected to Quantinuum Ltd?
No. The memecoin is an independent community project. Quantinuum Ltd trades on Nasdaq under QNT, which is a separate thing.
Keep reading
- IBM's Quantum Roadmap: From Nighthawk to Starling in 2029
IBM's published plan for fault tolerant quantum computing: processors per year, the Starling system, and what to watch in 2026 and 2027. - Quantinuum Ltd: Helios, the IPO and Why the Name Overlaps with QNT
A neutral profile of the quantum computing company Quantinuum Ltd, its Helios computer and its reported 2026 Nasdaq listing, and how it differs from the QNT memecoin. - IonQ, Microsoft, PsiQuantum, Rigetti, D-Wave and the Rest of the Field
Short profiles of the other major quantum players: what each builds, what they announced, and what to watch. - QUANTUM (QNT) Memecoin vs Quantinuum Ltd: Are They Related?
The QUANTUM (QNT) memecoin on Solana is not related to the quantum computing company Quantinuum Ltd. Here is the difference.
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