Introducing the Anderon leadership team

In May, we announced the creation of Anderon, the world’s most advanced pure-play quantum foundry, supported by investment from IBM and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Anderon was established to help strengthen the growing quantum ecosystem by providing advanced quantum wafer manufacturing capabilities for innovators across the globe.

Today, we’re excited to introduce the leadership team that will guide Anderon as it prepares to serve as the anchor of the growing quantum ecosystem.

Together, Anderon’s leaders bring decades of experience leading 300mm semiconductor innovation, quantum hardware, and manufacturing at scale. Their combined expertise will be instrumental in establishing Anderon as a trusted manufacturing partner and building the manufacturing foundation of the quantum era.

Dr. Mukesh Khare, Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Mukesh V. Khare is CEO of Anderon.

Dr. Mukesh Khare joins Anderon from IBM, where he served as General Manager and Vice President of IBM Semiconductors, leading a global team of more than 1,000 researchers advancing the future of computing and overseeing the semiconductor IP portfolio and associated income. He led research alliances behind pioneering 7nm and 2nm technologies, championed the USD 2B AI Hardware Center and USD 10B High NA EUV Center in partnership with New York State, and drove IBM’s work on quantum processor fabrication at the 300mm Albany NanoTech facility. He holds a Master of Technology from IIT Bombay and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Yale University.

“This is a transformative time for the quantum industry, with the potential to enable breakthroughs once thought impossible in service of humankind,” said Dr. Mukesh Khare, CEO of Anderon. “As the industry continues to mature, Anderon is building the manufacturing foundation needed to help companies bring quantum technologies to market.”

Dr. Jason Orcutt, Chief Technology Officer

As CTO at Anderon, Dr. Jason Orcutt is responsible for the development of foundry wafer technologies for customers in the quantum industry.

Before joining Anderon, Dr. Orcutt was a Senior Manager and Principal Research Scientist at IBM, where his work focused on silicon photonics and superconducting qubit technologies. He co-invented LASIQ, a technique for tuning Josephson junction critical current, and worked across areas including microwave-optical transduction, two-qubit gate architectures, and scalable quantum systems. He also led the development of microwave quantum interconnects to support modular quantum computing. Dr. Orcutt received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.

“Quantum computing is maturing beyond pathfinding research to a production phase, where manufacturing innovation will be as important as scientific discovery,” said Dr. Orcutt. “Anderon is focused on delivering the advanced wafer technologies our customers need to increase the scale of their future system builds.”

Dr. Theo Standaert, Head of Fab Operations

Dr. Theo Standaert is Head of Fab Operations for Anderon. He is responsible for 300mm manufacturing, process development, and integration that produces the world’s most advanced quantum wafers.

Prior to this role, Dr. Standaert spent more than two decades at IBM, where he held a diverse range of positions advancing manufacturable silicon wafer process technologies for IBM and its development partners. He played a key role in overcoming technical challenges associated with enabling the manufacture of advanced interconnect and FinFET transistor technologies, advancing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for the 7nm technology node, MRAM, and 300mm fab operations for quantum wafers. Dr. Standaert holds an M.S. degree in applied physics from Eindhoven University of Technology and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University at Albany, SUNY.

“As the quantum ecosystem grows, access to world-class manufacturing will become increasingly important,” said Dr. Standaert. “Anderon delivers the processes, infrastructure, and operational excellence needed to support our customers as they scale.”

Dr. Dan J. Dechene, Head of Foundry Business

Dr. Dan J. Dechene serves as Head of Foundry Business at Anderon. He leads the company’s commercial foundry strategy and customer engagement efforts to accelerate the development and production of next generation 300mm quantum wafers as well as development of the overall quantum manufacturing ecosystem.

Prior to joining Anderon, Dr. Dechene was Director of Technology Readiness and Digital Transformation at IBM, leading global strategy for semiconductor and quantum technology enablement and establishing critical manufacturing and technology partnerships. He has held key roles at IBM and GlobalFoundries, enabling advanced lithography and leading-edge logic technology development, while driving manufacturing excellence through disciplined technology readiness initiatives that accelerate the transition from innovation to production. Dr. Dechene received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Western University.

“The commercialization of quantum computing will require the same combination of manufacturing excellence, ecosystem collaboration, and customer partnership that enabled the modern semiconductor industry,” said Dr. Dechene. “Anderon brings these capabilities together in a pure-play foundry model designed to help customers scale innovation and bring quantum technologies to market.”

Looking Ahead

With its leadership team now in place, Anderon is focused on building a strong ecosystem of partners and accelerating the company’s growth as the quantum foundry of choice for innovators developing tomorrow’s technologies.

We look forward to sharing more about Anderon’s progress and the milestones ahead in the coming months. Contact us today to learn more.