Peter Chapman is a prominent American technology executive recognized for his leadership in the quantum computing industry and his extensive career in software engineering. He is best known for his tenure as the President and Chief Executive Officer of IonQ, a publicly traded quantum computing company, which he led through a critical growth phase and its transition to the public markets. Born in the United States, Chapman developed an early interest in computer science and artificial intelligence. In his youth, he gained hands-on experience by working at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he had the opportunity to work alongside pioneers in the field, including Marvin Minsky and Seymour Papert. This formative period sparked a career-long dedication to developing complex software systems. Chapman’s formal education includes studies at MIT and the Harvard University Extension School, where he continued to refine his technical and professional expertise. Chapman’s professional career spans over four decades, characterized by entrepreneurial ventures and engineering leadership. In 1989, he founded Level Systems, a video game company, and later established Boston Compliance Systems in 1997. His background also includes significant leadership roles in the media and technology sectors. He served as the President and CEO of Media Arc, a company formed through the merger of eMusic.com and K-NFB Reading Technologies. His diverse experience—ranging from financial compliance software to consumer-facing entertainment technology—provided him with a broad perspective on scaling businesses and navigating technological shifts. Prior to joining the quantum computing sector, Chapman spent several years at Amazon. From 2014 to 2019, he served as a Director of Engineering for Amazon Prime, where he played a pivotal role in managing the technology and logistics for the company’s subscription service, impacting millions of global users. In May 2019, Chapman was appointed President and CEO of IonQ, a startup based in College Park, Maryland. Although he initially lacked a background in quantum physics, his expertise in software development, corporate scaling, and business operations made him an ideal candidate to commercialize IonQ’s trapped-ion quantum computing hardware. Under his leadership, IonQ evolved from a research-focused startup into a significant player in the commercial quantum space. A major milestone in his tenure occurred in 2021, when he guided the company through a successful merger with dMY Technology Group III, resulting in IonQ becoming the first publicly traded pure-play quantum computing hardware company on the New York Stock Exchange. During his years at the helm, Chapman oversaw the company’s expansion, the development of increasingly powerful quantum hardware, and the establishment of strategic partnerships with major cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, to make quantum computing resources accessible to researchers and developers. In February 2025, Chapman stepped down as the CEO of IonQ, having steered the company through its formative years as a public entity. Following this transition, he served as the Executive Chair of the company, continuing to provide strategic guidance before eventually stepping down from that role in the summer of 2025. His legacy in the industry is defined by his ability to bridge the gap between abstract quantum research and tangible, market-ready computing solutions.