IonQ hires trio of Dell vets to lead federal push

IonQ stood up its federal arm in the fall to chart the quantum computing and networking technology provider’s path in the market, which includes a mix of prime contracting work and industry partnerships.

Robert Cardillo, the former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director, was appointed executive chairman of the IonQ Federal division whose customers include the Air Force Research Laboratory and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

IonQ has further expanded its leadership team for federal with its hires of former Dell Technologies executives Steve Harris and Cameron Chehreh to senior executive roles. Mike Lawson is a third Dell veteran that has joined IonQ’s federal leadership team, IonQ said in a LinkedIn post Monday.

Harris has been appointed senior vice president for the IonQ Federal go-to-market organization and will oversee all of its public sector work, while Chehreh was named vice president of field engineering for IonQ Federal. Lawson’s new title is vice president for the IonQ Federal go-to-market organization.

IonQ’s establishment of this senior leadership group is the newest in a series of moves aimed at gaining a greater federal presence, including the acquisition of Earth imagery satellite operator Capella Space.

Capella has launched 15 satellites since its start in 2016 and supports IonQ’s work on quantum key distribution, a method of sharing encryption keys that uses particles of light to ensure communications stay private and tamper-proof.

Harris is a nearly three-decade market veteran who most recently led the public sector vertical at Dynatrace and worked in the same capacity at Alteryx before that. His 23-year career at Dell included seven as president of its federal systems unit.

Chehreh, also a three-decade market veteran, joins IonQ following a three-year stint as vice president and general manager of Intel’s global public sector unit. Prior to that, he worked as chief technology officer at Dell’s federal systems unit for seven years and was the person to hold that particular CTO role.

Lawson most recently spent 15 years in sales leadership roles at Dell. His industry career prior to that includes positions at Iron Bow Technologies and Apptis.

Before entering the private sector, he served in civilian leadership roles at the Defense Information Systems Agency and in uniform for the Air Force.

Both Harris and Chehreh have been guests on Washington Technology's podcast.