Kanyin Ilori:
quantum-level trust
Kanyin runs marketing for Universal Quantum - the company who might just have cracked usable quantum computing.
Before that, he led on digital comms for the Defence Division at Airbus Group.
“We need to be the grown-ups in the room.”
I worked with Kanyin on UQ’s recent rebrand, and his calm thoughtfulness and unflappable positivity made the whole process a real pleasure. So it was great to catch up with him again - this time, on working with ex-generals, migrating from Nigeria to Wales, and how you sell a product that hasn’t fully been invented yet.
“I was always fascinated by the future.
I’m the son of a Nigerian family. I moved to Wales for Uni. It was a culture shock. But it became a major part of who I am now. I had a lot of my formative experiences in Wales: first club, first girlfriend, first time living by myself, all of that stuff.
I had a stutter when I was younger, so I found it easier to write and to express myself by writing. Prose; a lot of poetry. In English, I can’t write in Yoruba to save my life. I still speak it to my Mum when she calls, but that’s it.
And whenever I read comic books or watched movies - I loved Iron Man, Tony Stark, what seemed possible.”
“I wanted to align myself with where I saw society flowing.
My start was actually working for the National Health Service. Then a very boutique cyber business in Wales. Off the back of that, I got headhunted to lead UK marketing operations for the cyber division of the defense portion of Airbus Group - and later, on digital comms for the entire group. This meant a move to France at Airbus HQ.
But then I got homesick for the UK. So I came back to work in another cyber company for a couple of years. And then I had this great opportunity with UQ.
I was really drawn to the fact that it was a blank canvas, with a good bunch of people, and the chance to make it my own. And dealing with something future-gazing by nature: quantum.
“Defense is a very serious segment. You have to be precise. There is not much room for fluff.
You lean into the core value differentiators. It’s OK that you’re not privy to the really sensitive information.
Take the SOC solution (Secure Operation Centre) we provided for the UK MOD. We were plugged into their entire digital infrastructure and we could monitor that in real time to tell them if there was a breach.
There are layers of technical information - but they aren’t relevant to me being able to sell that product. What’s relevant is that we had one of the best solutions and we had been providing it to the MOD for 20 years. Quality and longevity.
My activation would be designed to gain proximity - and then I’d hand over to a BD rep, probably ex-military, for the face-to-face conversation. There’s an instinctive affinity there, between people in that world. There’s trust.”
“The environment was very respectful. Working with military people was pretty interesting.
One of the best bosses that I've ever worked for was the ex-Commander of the UK Joint Force CIS (Communications and Information Systems). In the first meeting I had with him, he just said to me, “Look. You’re one of my lieutenants. When you're in a room with me, I don't want to hear my voice talking over you when it comes to marketing, as long as you continue to show that I can trust you.”
Maybe that’s down to the training. That in-the-trenches, linked-arms view: if you're here, it means you’re good enough. I trust you.
Trust is also central to what I do at Universal Quantum.
Quantum computing, as it stands today, is based on future promises - at least, from a marketing standpoint. The golden position is to be a trusted thought leader rather than seeking short term gains.
A lot of people don't yet have tangible hardware to deliver the big promises we’ve heard - whether that’s to cure cancer or revolutionise logistics. A lot of people are saying things that are just nuts. We need to be the grown-ups in the room.
When I worked in cyber, we could demonstrate what we would do for your digital infrastructure, immediately. At UQ, we have to use our credibility to design engagements around delivering a quantum computer at some point in the future. But that growing credibility can be leveraged for some great marketing.
A huge part of my role right now is to explain the pathway that we've picked.
Why our approach is the best way to solve this really big problem. There is more than one pathway to a utility scale quantum computer. Which will work? We won’t know until we know. Till then, we’re going to showcase our short term wins and we’re going to build on that.
There is a lot of uncertainty, but there is also wider interest as well, with press, and with customers that don't know how exactly they would deploy a quantum computer, but know that they’ll come to need one.
We believe that if we consolidate that trusted identity and build a good cadence of thought leadership, you’ll trust us to tell you the truth - good, bad or indifferent - and then build a long-term relationship. And then you might buy from us.
So far, it’s working. We landed one of the largest ever public sector contracts for a quantum computer - with DLR (the German Space Agency) for €70 million. That’s a lot of money, based on trust.
I love that I get to work building the worlds I used to imagine.
Watching movies with my dad, reading comics, writing - I always loved to sink into these weird other realities. Now I get to talk about them every day.
If you’d like to know more about Universal Quantum, you can check out their website here
Or just hit up Kanyin directly: kanyin[@]universalquantum.com
UQ’s rebrand was run by the brilliant digital creative agency Flying Object