Following his recent promotion to CTO, we caught up with Graeme Hickey to discuss his journey so far, what excites him most about the role, and his vision for the future of engineering at PQShield.
Congratulations on the promotion to CTO. How does it feel to step into this role?
Thanks. It’s exciting and a great responsibility. I’ve been fortunate to work closely with a really talented team so stepping into the CTO role feels like a natural progression of my journey at PQShield. What motivates me most is the opportunity to help shape the long term technology direction of the company while continuing to build an engineering culture that can scale and innovate.
You’ve been part of the engineering journey here for some time now. Looking back, what have been some of the key milestones or moments that shaped your path to CTO?
A major milestone was building and scaling the engineering organisation. As the company has matured we have had to evolve from a fast-moving startup mindset into an organisation capable of delivering production-grade cryptographic IP. Building the first PQC Test chip was a also major achievement for the team, demonstrating our capability to create real-world products. Another important change was recognising that success in PQC isn’t just about algorithms, it’s about integration, assurance, and engineering maturity. Developing a more structured technology strategy and roadmap around those capabilities has been a key part of the journey.
How has the company evolved since you first joined, and what excites you most about where it’s heading next?
The company has grown significantly since I joined in 2022 , from a team of around 12 to almost 100 today. We have added world class talent and experience in all domains and are now world renowned as PQC experts. We’ve grown from proving technical concepts into delivering real world platforms and solutions that are becoming increasingly important to customers navigating the post quantum transition.
As CTO, what will be your main priorities over the next 12–18 months?
A major priority is strengthening the technology foundations that enable our engineering teams to move quickly and consistently as we continue to scale. That includes investment in platforms, tooling, validation, automation, and architectural runway.
What areas of technology or innovation do you think will be most important for the company moving forward?
Crypto agility is becoming increasingly important as organisations look for long-term flexibility in how cryptography is deployed and updated. We’ll also see growing importance on hardware acceleration, secure integration, and implementation assurance as PQC moves into embedded systems, silicon platforms, and critical infrastructure. AI assisted engineering is another area with huge potential. Used correctly, it could significantly improve engineering productivity and accelerate validation and development processes.
What kind of culture do you want to continue building within the technical teams?
It is important to me that we maintain a culture that combines deep technical excellence with pragmatism and collaboration. I believe that in a field like cryptography and cybersecurity, curiosity and technical rigor are essential, but so is the ability to work across disciplines and deliver real world solutions. I also believe in creating an environment where people can experiment, challenge ideas constructively and learn continuously.
The cybersecurity and post-quantum landscape is evolving rapidly. What opportunities or challenges are you most focused on right now?
One of the biggest opportunities right now is supporting organisations to move from experimentation into real deployment. The industry has made huge progress on standardisation, but many companies are only now beginning to understand the practical engineering challenges involved in adopting post quantum cryptography.
What excites you most about the future of the industry, and the role this company can play within it?
What excites me is the opportunity to help shape how that future is built not only through algorithms, but through real world engineering and deployable technologies.
What part of becoming CTO are you personally most excited about?
The opportunity to connect long-term technology strategy with engineering execution. I enjoy working at the intersection of architecture, platforms, engineering, and innovation, helping teams solve difficult problems while also ensuring we are building sustainable technical foundations for the future.
Finally, when not busy at PQShield, what do you enjoy outside of work?
Outside of work I enjoy spending time with family, following sports, playing guitar and keeping fit.
Graeme’s promotion marks an exciting next chapter for both him and PQShield. As the company continues to scale globally and support organisations through the post-quantum transition, his focus on engineering excellence, collaboration, and real-world delivery will help shape the future of the business and the wider industry. Exciting times ahead!