Insider Brief
- Xanadu has appointed Tara Deakin as Chief People Officer as the photonic quantum computing company expands its global workforce.
- Deakin joins Xanadu from Spin Master, where she served as Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President, while Rebecca Laramée moves to Senior Vice President of Human Resources.
- Xanadu CEO Christian Weedbrook also disclosed the sale of 4.6 million Class B shares for approximately C$32.8 million in gross proceeds for personal financial planning.
PRESS RELEASE — Xanadu Quantum Technologies Limited (“ Xanadu “; NASDAQ/TSX: XNDU), a leading photonic quantum computing company, today announced the addition of a strategic leader to its executive team: Tara Deakin as Chief People Officer. This appointment strengthens Xanadu’s leadership as it continues to scale and advance its mission to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere. As part of this planned transition, current Chief People Officer Rebecca Laramée will continue with the company as Senior Vice President of Human Resources, where she will partner with Deakin to lead Xanadu’s high-growth workforce initiatives.
“Tara is an outstanding addition to our leadership team,” said Dr. Christian Weedbrook, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Xanadu . “As we continue towards our vision of building a utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, her extensive experience in global enterprise transformation, leadership effectiveness, and aligning human capital with business strategy will be invaluable in scaling our organization with discipline and purpose. We are also immensely grateful to Rebecca for her leadership as Chief People Officer, and we look forward to her continued impact as Senior Vice President of Human Resources as we build out our global team.”
Deakin brings extensive experience leading people and organizational strategy through periods of growth and transformation. Prior to joining Xanadu , she served as Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President at Spin Master, where she had global responsibility for people strategy, corporate communications, real estate and workplace experience. During her tenure, helped guide the organization as it expanded globally, entered new product categories through organic growth and acquisition, and became increasingly complex — building on the strengths that drove its success while evolving its leadership, organization and ways of working for its next stage.
Over the course of her career, Deakin has held executive leadership roles spanning human resources, operations, talent and enterprise strategy at Spin Master, TD Bank Group, Citi and Rogers Communications. She also serves as an independent director and Chair of the Human Resources Committee of goeasy Ltd.
“ Xanadu is building something truly extraordinary, and I’m excited to join at such an important point in the company’s evolution,” said Tara Deakin. “I look forward to partnering with Christian, Rebecca, and the broader team to build the organizational and leadership capabilities that will support Xanadu’s next stage of growth and advance the company’s mission to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere.”
Early Warning Reporting
The following information is being provided by Dr. Weedbrook in connection with the early warning requirements under applicable Canadian securities laws. On September 22, 2026, Dr. Weedbrook disposed of an aggregate of 4,600,000 Class B Subordinate Voting Shares of Xanadu (“Class B Subordinate Voting Shares”) through sales on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) and other published markets (the “Sale”). In connection with the Sale, Dr. Weedbrook converted an aggregate 4,600,000 Class A Multiple Voting Shares of Xanadu (“Class A Multiple Voting Shares”, together with the Class B Subordinate Voting Shares, the “Company Shares”) into Class B Subordinate Voting Shares on a one-for-one basis (the “Conversion”).
Prior to the Conversion and Sale, Dr. Weedbrook held 46,432,704 Class A Multiple Voting Shares and 8,906 Class B Subordinate Voting Shares, representing approximately 19.5% of total issued and outstanding Class A Multiple Voting Shares, less than 1% of total issued and outstanding Class B Subordinate Voting Shares, approximately 15.24% of the total issued and outstanding Company Shares and approximately 18.97% of total voting power attached to the Company Shares. The Class A Multiple Voting Shares converted represented approximately 2.98% of total issued and outstanding Class A Multiple Voting Shares and the Class B Subordinate Voting Shares sold pursuant to the Sale represented approximately 3.05% of total issued and outstanding Class B Subordinate Voting Shares. Following the Conversion and Sale, Dr. Weedbrook held 41,832,704 Class A Multiple Voting Shares and 18,593 Class B Subordinate Voting Shares, representing approximately 27.6% of total issued and outstanding Class A Multiple Voting Shares, less than 1% of total issued and outstanding Class B Subordinate Voting Shares, approximately 13.71% of the total issued and outstanding Company Shares and approximately 25.06% of total voting power attached to the Company Shares. If all of the Class A Multiple Voting Shares held by Dr. Weedbrook were converted into Class B Subordinate Voting Shares in accordance with their terms, Dr. Weedbrook would hold 41,851,297 Class B Subordinate Voting Shares, representing approximately 21.70% of Class B Subordinate Voting Shares then issued and outstanding and approximately 3.18% of total voting power attached to the Company Shares.
The securities were sold through the facilities of the TSX and other published markets. A total of 4,041,659 shares were sold in Canada at prices ranging from C$7.00 to C$9.25. A total of 558,341 shares were sold in the U.S. at prices ranging from US$5.01 to US$7.27 (C$7.024521 to C$10.193267 based on the USD:CAD Bank of Canada exchange rate on September 21, 2026). Aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$32,831,120.00. The shares were sold by Dr. Weedbrook pursuant to the Sale for personal financial planning purposes.
As an executive officer of Xanadu and member of the board of the directors of Xanadu, Dr. Weedbrook is actively involved in Xanadu’s business, operations and planning. Except as disclosed herein, Dr. Weedbrook does not have any present plans or proposals which relate to or that would result in any of the actions or transactions described in paragraphs (a) through (k) of Item 5 of Form 62-103F1 to National Instrument 62-103 – The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues. Dr. Weedbrook may, however, increase or decrease his registered or beneficial ownership of, or control over, the Class A Multiple Voting Shares, Class B Subordinate Voting Shares or other securities of Xanadu, directly or indirectly, in the future, in the open market, in privately-negotiated purchases, through the conversion of Class A Multiple Voting Shares into Class B Subordinate Voting Shares or otherwise, depending on, among other things, Xanadu’s business and prospects, market and general economic conditions and other available investment opportunities, subject to applicable laws and the terms of the Xanadu’s Articles of Incorporation (as amended), Investor and Registration Rights Agreement and Coattail Agreement, each as described in Xanadu’s Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2026.
The head office of Xanadu and the address for Dr. Weedbrook are 777 Bay Street, Suite 2400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2C8. For further information (including a copy of the early warning reports to be filed with securities regulators in connection with this press release), please see Xanadu’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or telephone Natalie Wilmore at 416-304-9629.