Cambridge, UK, MARCH 11, 2026 -- Nu Quantum, the leading quantum networking company, has announced that Dr Maria Maragkou has joined as VP of Business Development. Her focus will be driving business development strategy, building the company’s partner ecosystem, and positioning Nu Quantum for its next stage of growth. Maria brings to the role a distinctive combination of scientific depth and commercial leadership, developed across research, scientific publishing, and the quantum industry.

Dr. Maragkou holds a PhD in quantum optics from the University of Southampton. She spent several years conducting postdoctoral research on single photon sources as a Marie Curie Fellow in Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris. She served as a Senior Editor at Nature Photonics and Nature Materials, developing a rare ability to translate complex science for different audiences - a skill that has proven invaluable in commercialising frontier technology. To sharpen her business instincts, she earned an Executive MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Kedge Business School.

Dr. Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, Co-Founder and CEO at Nu Quantum, said: “Maria is one of the only people in the world with the unique combination of deep quantum expertise and real communications and business experience. I look forward to building our global commercial partnerships with Maria.”

Dr. Maria Maragkou, VP of Business Development at Nu Quantum, said: “I am thrilled to be part of such a strong and energetic team. I have no doubt that distributed architectures will accelerate the timeline to useful, large-scale quantum computers, and I have been impressed with Nu Quantum’s progress all these years. I am looking forward to supporting the commercial growth and maturity of such a unique company and helping it realise its full potential in the coming years.”

Formerly VP Commercial at Riverlane, the market leader in quantum error correction, Maria led both the Product and Business Development teams for several years. She played a key role in establishing Riverlane's go-to-market strategy, building partnerships with the leading quantum hardware companies and National Labs across the globe, as well as successfully closing the company's Series C fundraise in 2024. This experience established a track record of translating technical innovation into strategic partnerships and sustainable commercial growth, and cemented her philosophy: in deep tech, the best commercial leaders are the ones who can sit comfortably on both sides of the table.