Team Members

Michelle Simmons

• Founder & CEO

Scientia Professor Simmons has pioneered a powerful technology for creating electronic devices in silicon with atomic precision. Her team has developed the world’s first single-atom transistor, the world’s narrowest conducting wires and have demonstrated the ability to encode information on single atoms with record fidelity, spin relaxation and coherence times.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the American Academy of Arts and Science, the American Association of the Advancement of Science, the UK Institute of Physics, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and of the Australian Academy of Science.

Ian R. Hill

• President & CIO

Ian spent most of his career in and around high-tech and Silicon Valley. He had senior roles at McKinsey and Microsoft before moving to Australia to work at SQC. Ian brings 20+ years of experience in operational excellence, strategy, and computer science.

Olivia Haigh

• VP of HR

Olivia has built a wide and varied career encompassing operations management, brand, advertising, and communications. Managing HR processes with agility and efficiency, Olivia is the connective force between the constantly moving parts of our teams.

Benjamin Matthewson

• General Manager

Benjamin brings big picture thinking together with diligent attention to detail. He has a proven track record in tech start-ups and tech transfer, including supply chain coordination (procurement, recruitment, research), milestone development and tracking, IP management, sales and marketing, strategy development, finance, contract management and stakeholder management.

Komal Pahwa

• Senior IP Counsel

Komal is a rare breed of IP specialist – a dedicated patent attorney with expertise in physical sciences. As a registered patent attorney and a PHD in Quantum Optics, she brings a wealth of technical and legal expertise to the company. Komal has previously worked as a patent attorney in IP law firms.