Advisory board
From left to right: Dr. René Penning de Vries, Ir. Freeke Heijman, Dr. Jan van Schoot, Prof. David P. DiVincenzo
René Penning de Vries
Former CEO and CTO at NXP
Dr. René Penning de Vries is an experienced and accomplished director in the semicon industry. We are proud to have his advice on strategy, partnerships and development roadmap so that we can establish a leadership position in the emerging quantum industry.
René was educated as a Physicist at the Radboud University and completed a PhD in Device Physics at the University of Twente. After his studies, he held several positions in R&D in The Netherlands, France, the USA and Singapore. In 2001, he became Chief Technology Officer at Philips Semiconductors/NXP. In this role as CTO, he led the R&D branch of the company, consisting of over 5000 physicists, engineers and developers. In 2006, he also took up the role of Chief Executive Officer at NXP Netherlands. Since 2012 René has taken up various roles with the aim of fostering innovation, by connecting companies in the public-private domain, scientific research and governments. In 2021, René got an exceptional recognition for his merits to society, by being named Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, a Dutch order of chivalry.
Former CEO and CTO at NXP
Freeke Heijman
Founder and former director at Quantum Delta NL
Freeke has been a driving force in the area of quantum technology development for over 10 years. She founded Quantum Delta NL in 2020 along with Ronald Hanson and Jesse Robbers and played a key role in convincing the Dutch Growth Fund to award their largest grant to the quantum ecosystem, €615 million euros in April 2021.
In The Netherlands, she has been the linking pin between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the quantum ecosystem for many years. Her innovative development program established a bustling quantum ecosystem in The Netherlands with top-level research and industry players. She has been instrumental in establishing QuTech, the EU Quantum Flagship, the House of Quantum, various quantum technology field labs and QDNL Participations, one of the early VC investors in OrangeQS.
After leaving her position as director of Quantum Delta NL in 2024, Freeke could draw on the extensive network built up over the years with leading national quantum initiatives, to support OrangeQS in growing its global presence. As an independent consultant, she now offers advice to among others NATO, TNO and Qblox.
Co-founder & former director of Ecosystem development at Quantum Delta NL, Co-chair Global Future Council on Quantum Economy, Independent consultant on quantum- and deeptech innovation.
Jan van Schoot
Fellow and Senior System Engineer at ASML
Dr. Jan van Schoot brings his experience with the design and production of complex systems to Orange QS. We’re excited to have his advice on best practices and the stringent technical and operational requirements of the semiconductor industry.
Jan holds over 35 patents and has experienced the growth of ASML from about 1000 employees in 1996 to over 30.000 employees. In 2018, ASML succeeded in making machines that use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to produce the most advanced microchips (7nm, 5 nm and 3 nm nodes). Today ASML’s lithography technology is fundamental to mass producing semiconductor chips. Jan was deeply involved in the two decades of research required to achieve ASML’s EUV milestone and is currently responsible for the optical train of the next-generation system with high numerical aperture (High-NA). Next to this, he studies high NA system extensions and next generation Lithography systems.
Fellow and Senior System Engineer at ASML
David P. DiVincenzo
Professor at RWTH Aachen
Professor David DiVincenzo is one of the most distinguished scientists in the quantum computing field and helps Orange QS with his insights on the state-of-the-art academic research on quantum information science.
David is famous for his work on the theoretical foundations of quantum computing and quantum information, as well as for his contributions to the development of practical quantum computing technologies. His pioneering research into quantum information has taken him through positions at the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and IBM Watson Research Center. David is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (1999) and an Associate editor of Reviews of Modern Physics (2011). In 2010 he was also awarded with the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship, a prestigious German prize for international researchers.
Professor at RWTH Aachen, Professor of Electrical Engineering at the TU Delft, Director of the Institute of Theoretical Nanoelectronics at Forschungszentrum Jülich and Co-director of the JARA Institute for Quantum Information.
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