Former spy chief Nick Warner has been appointed as a non-executive director of PsiQuantum, the tech startup that will stage its attempts to build the world’s first utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer in Australia.
Mr Warner, who spent years as the director-general of the Office for National Intelligence (ONI), takes the role overseeing its operations in Australia, effective immediately, PsiQuantum said on Thursday.
He joins as the first local board member for the Silicon Valley-based company as it ramps up its hiring efforts in Queensland, having opened its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Brisbane at the end of last year.
In the United States, the company has a four-member Government Advisory Board consisting of former under secretary of defense for policy Michèle Flournoy and former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director Bob Sharp.
A career diplomat who spent more than a decade in Australia’s national intelligence apparatus before retiring in 2020, Mr Warner brings extensive experience to PsiQuantum’s local direction setting.
Before becoming the first director-general of ONI, which was created in December 2018, he served as the director-general of the agency’s predecessor, the Office of National Assessments.
Mr Warner was also the director-general of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service between 2009 and 2017, the secretary of the Department of Defence (2006-2009), and briefly an adviser to former Prime Minister John Howard.
“Nick has had a distinguished career in public service, and brings extensive expertise across a wide range of fields, including international relations, global intelligence and security,” a spokesperson said.
“Nick’s skills and experience will support PsiQuantum as it continues to grow operations in Australia and the Asia-Pacific, and builds the world’s first utility scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer in Brisbane.”
Mr Warner joins as the company begins its first real hiring blitz since securing a $940 million investment from the federal and Queensland governments in April 2024.
PsiQuantum is currently searching for a quantum cheminformatics scientist, quantum architect, senior experimental systems engineer, quantum solutions materials theorist and a quantum solutions manager for the Qlimate Research Centre.
Other open roles include a senior corporate counsel and a senior communications manager. The hiring spree comes just weeks after the company bolstered its lobbying ranks with Jeff Popp – a former chief of staff to one-time Queensland deputy premier Jeff Seeney.
PsiQuantum is planning to break ground on the manufacturing and production facility at some time before July, having secured Brisbane Airport as the site of its quantum efforts late last year.
Construction on the Chicago Quantum and Microelectronic Park, where the company plans to deliver its second utility-scale, fault tolerant quantum computer, is also set to being in early 2025.
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