PRESS RELEASE — ColdQuanta, the leader in Cold Atom Quantum Technology, announced that Chester Kennedy has been appointed as President, Research and Security Solutions and Barry Behnken has joined the company as Executive Vice President of Engineering. The executives take the reins of key roles at ColdQuanta as the company sets to rapidly scale its business.
“The leadership track record of Barry and Chester is impressive. Their experience managing teams at today’s most innovative technology companies make them uniquely qualified to lead their teams at ColdQuanta,” said Scott Faris, ColdQuanta CEO. “ColdQuanta is at an inflection point in its growth and we are strategically building out our leadership team to more rapidly commercialize our quantum products and services.”
Chester Kennedy, President of Research and Security Solutions
In his role, Chester will focus on driving sustainable growth for the company’s security solutions including: sensors, quantum RF, and services that enable new applications of quantum derived technologies. Chester previously held senior roles at Lockheed Martin, serving as Vice President and Chief Engineer for Mission Systems and Training, and Vice President of Engineering for Global Training and Logistics.
Before joining ColdQuanta, Chester served as Principal of CK TEC SOLUTIONS, where he led companies through the process of understanding current and future technology disruptions to their business and the true impact of global supply chains on their organizations and national security. Prior to CK TEC SOLUTIONS, Chester served as CEO of BRIDG, where he was responsible for all aspects of growing and operating the global high tech consortium focused on advancing state-of-the-art sensors, microelectronics, and related production capabilities.
“ColdQuanta has demonstrated early leadership in helping government entities advance quantum initiatives – on Earth and in space,” said Chester Kennedy. “As a member of the leadership team, I am eager to help the U.S. become the dominant force in quantum and advance innovative approaches to the challenges facing our nation. We have a huge opportunity to establish a leadership position that will help our country and its allies gain and retain a formidable competitive advantage.”
Chester is an associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and a Senior Member of IEEE and holds a BSEE from the University of Tennessee as well as a MBA from Florida Institute of Technology.
Barry Behnken, EVP Engineering
As Executive Vice President of Engineering, Behnken will lead and develop engineering teams across ColdQuanta’s three divisions – Quantum Computing, Quantum Research as a Service (QRaaS), and ColdAtom Technologies (CAT). Behnken brings a wealth of experience in quantum-adjacent technologies including optical engineering, laser detection and ranging, space systems engineering, autonomous vehicles, and computational and laser physics.
Previously, Behnken co-founded and served as Senior Vice President of Engineering at AEye, which pioneered breakthroughs in intelligent sensing through the development of advanced vision hardware, software and algorithms that act as the eyes and visual cortex of autonomous vehicles. Behnken also brings extensive experience in the defense/aerospace industry, having previously served as Vice President of Engineering at York Space Systems, Engineering Fellow for Emerging Laser Technologies at Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems, and as a senior physicist and program manager in the U.S. Air Force.
“Based on my experience at some of today’s most transformative technology companies, I believe ColdQuanta is positioned for exponential scale,” said Behnken. “Quantum technologies are creating a monumental shift in how we approach nearly every industry from healthcare, to defense, logistics and more. As a pioneer in cold atom quantum technology, ColdQuanta is leading this charge.”
Behnken holds a PhD in applied physics from the Naval Postgraduate School and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.
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