Insider Brief
- Quandela strengthened its leadership and governance team by appointing Cyril Dujardin as Chief Operating Officer, Michel Zecri as Vice President of Industrialization, and Michel Paulin as Chairman of the Board to support the company’s next phase of growth and deployment.
- The appointments are aimed at expanding Quandela’s operational, manufacturing, and governance capabilities as the company moves from developing photonic quantum computing technology toward large-scale commercial deployment across cloud, data center, research, and industrial markets.
- The leadership changes follow recent milestones including expanded cloud-based quantum services, real-world system deployments, and strategic partnerships across Europe and Asia, reflecting the company’s focus on scaling its quantum computing business internationally.
PRESS RELEASE — Quandela, a European leader in photonic quantum computing, today announced a major reinforcement of its leadership and governance with the appointment of Cyril Dujardin as Chief Operating Officer and Michel Zecri as Vice President of Industrialization. Michel Paulin, former CEO of OVHcloud, SFR and Neuf Cegetel, becomes Chairman of the Board.
These appointments mark a new stage in Quandela’s development. As quantum computing enters a more execution-driven phase, success will increasingly depend not only on scientific performance, but also on the ability to industrialize complex hardware, structure global operations, secure supply chains, support customer deployments, and build trusted infrastructure at scale.
With Cyril Dujardin, Michel Zecri and Michel Paulin, Quandela is strengthening the operational, industrial and governance foundations required to move from pioneering photonic quantum systems to repeatable, international deployment across cloud platforms, data centers, high-performance computing environments, research institutions and industrial customers.
“Quantum computing is now moving into a phase where execution matters as much as breakthrough science,” said Niccolò Somaschi, co-founder and CEO of Quandela. “Quandela has built a unique position in photonic quantum computing, with systems designed for real-world environments and a clear roadmap toward fault-tolerant quantum computing. The arrival of Cyril and Michel, together with Michel Paulin becoming Chairman of the Board, gives us the operational depth, industrial discipline and governance experience needed for our next chapter of scale.”
Cyril Dujardin (50) brings more than 25 years of executive experience in deeptech, cybersecurity, defense, critical infrastructure and sovereign technologies. He has led large international organizations, managed major P&Ls, and driven complex transformations and integrations, notably at Atos and Eutelsat/OneWeb. As COO, he will lead Quandela’s global operations and support the company’s execution across product, R&D, go-to-market, partnerships and customer delivery.
“Quandela is at a pivotal moment : exceptional technology must now be matched by an equally robust operating model,” said Cyril Dujardin, Chief Operating Officer of Quandela. “My focus will be to help the company scale with clarity, speed and reliability, aligning research, product, business execution and customer deployment so that Quandela can serve industrial, institutional and international markets at the highest level.”
Michel Zecri (54) joins Quandela with more than 20 years of industrial leadership experience across high-tech environments, including semiconductors, infrared technologies, aerospace and defense. He has held senior operations and general management roles at Freescale/Motorola, Sofradir/Lynred and Rakon, leading multi-site teams and large-scale transformations from R&D to industrial production.
As VP Industrialization, Michel Zecri will lead the scale-up of Quandela’s quantum hardware platforms and components into manufacturable, reliable and cost-optimized products. His scope will include manufacturing operations, industrial processes, supply chain resilience, quality systems, compliance, hardware operations and customer support.
“Scaling quantum hardware requires industrial discipline at every level: design for manufacturability, process control, supplier strategy, quality, reliability and lifecycle support,” said Michel Zecri, VP Industrialization of Quandela. “Quandela’s photonic approach has strong potential for scalable deployment, and I am excited to help turn this technological advantage into a repeatable industrial platform.”
Michel Paulin (65), who joined Quandela’s Board of Directors in 2025, now becomes Chairman of the Board. A recognized leader in the digital industry, he brings extensive experience in cloud, telecoms, sovereign digital infrastructure, international expansion and high-growth technology companies. As Chairman, he will support Quandela’s long-term strategic direction, governance and ecosystem positioning as the company expands its role in the global quantum computing landscape.
“Quandela brings together world-class science, a pragmatic product roadmap and a strategic European position in one of the defining technologies of the coming decades,” said Michel Paulin, Chairman of the Board of Quandela. “My role as Chairman will be to help the company turn this position into a sustainable international leadership story, with the governance, partnerships and execution standards expected from a global technology champion.”
The leadership reinforcement follows a series of milestones for Quandela, including the expansion of its cloud-accessible quantum computing offering, the deployment of photonic quantum systems in real-world environments, and the development of strategic partnerships across Europe and Asia. Together, these appointments reflect Quandela’s ambition to build not only leading quantum technology, but also the industrial organization capable of delivering it at scale.
