Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI) has reorganized its leadership structure to support growing quantum system deployments and to sharpen its processor development work. The company created a Chief Operating Officer role and assigned new responsibilities across its engineering and commercial operations, separating customer deployments from its core quantum engineering functions.

The leadership changes were announced as RGTI stock fell 6.15% to $15.95, after trading above $17 earlier in Thursday's session.

Rigetti Restructures Operations for System Deployments

Rigetti created a dedicated Systems Delivery organization as demand grows for on-premises quantum computing systems. The group will oversee system deployment, customer engineering, and operational execution. Through the change, Rigetti aims to separate delivery responsibilities from its core processor development work.

The company currently supplies systems ranging from its 9-qubit Novera platform to 108-qubit Cepheus-class systems. Previously, Rigetti's engineering teams also handled installation and customer support duties. Under the new structure, those responsibilities are assigned to dedicated operational teams, a move that is intended to reduce overlap as the company handles more complex customer deployments.

Rigetti expects the division to support broader deployments while giving engineers more time for hardware development. The company continues working toward its published quantum technology roadmap, which includes improving the performance and reliability of its Cepheus processor architecture.

David Rivas Appointed Chief Operating Officer

Rigetti appointed David Rivas as its Chief Operating Officer, a newly created position. Rivas had served as the company's Chief Technology Officer since February 2023. In the expanded role, he will lead a range of operational, commercial, and customer-facing functions across the business.

His responsibilities now include manufacturing operations, systems delivery, software engineering, and business development. Rivas will also oversee government programs, supply chain operations, applications, facilities, and fabrication activities. The COO position therefore combines several functions under one executive, a structure Rigetti designed to establish clearer responsibility across system production and customer delivery.

The changes reflect Rigetti's shift toward supporting more customer installations alongside ongoing research and development. Increased deployment activity created greater operational requirements across the company. As a result, Rigetti separated system delivery leadership from its processor engineering organization.

Andrew Bestwick Named Chief Technology Officer

Rigetti appointed Andrew Bestwick as Chief Technology Officer, filling the role previously held by Rivas. Bestwick previously served as Senior Vice President of Quantum Systems and led the architecture of the company's Cepheus-class multi-chip systems.

In his new position, Bestwick will oversee quantum processor development, chip fabrication development, and hardware engineering. The technology organization will remain Rigetti's largest engineering group under the revised operating structure.

Rigetti continues placing processor performance at the center of its development strategy. The company also targets 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity on its Cepheus-1-108Q system.

Both Bestwick and Rivas report directly to President and Chief Executive Officer Subodh Kulkarni. Their appointments became effective on August 18.

The leadership changes align Rigetti's commercial expansion with its longer-term quantum computing development plans, while also clarifying how the company separates delivery work from engineering. Under the revised structure, the company's deployment operations and its processor engineering organization now operate under separate executive leadership.

Source: Blockonomi