About the Speakers

Ghislain Lefebvre (panelist)

Ghislain Lefebvre began his career as a physics teacher in several CEGEPs that welcome

grade 12 and U1 students in the province of Quebec. He then launched his own business

by founding a brewery with his wife. He held the positions of brewer and president.

Back in the Eastern Townships, he was director of the regional agri-food regional board

and responsible for the deployment of the local food identification brand.

During his years in the beer and agri-food industry, Ghislain Lefebvre was also a gourmet

radio columnist for Radio-Canada the French CBC stations in Rimouski and Sherbrooke.

Since January 2020, he is back in the world of physics and holds the position of

Partnership Development Manager for the Institut quantique of the USherbrooke.

Jean-François Barsoum (panelist)

Jean-François Barsoum has over 20 years of experience at IBM where his focus is on

understanding and communicating the societal and environmental impacts of technology. He

was part of the core team that built the smart city concepts in the early 2000s.

Currently, his main objective is to communicate and popularise climate change solutions, smart

city innovations, and the potential impacts of autonomous vehicles.

In 2008, he was selected by Al Gore's Climate Project to be trained by the Nobel Peace Prize

laureate. He later joined the board of directors of the Canadian branch of Mr. Gore's Foundation

for Climate change education.

He regularly advises startups in incubators and accelerators and is collaborating on large

research collaborations with several Canadian universities, notably in quantum computing.

He chairs the disruptive technology committee of the Montreal Chamber of Commerce, as well as

the Quebec Smart Transportation experts’ committee; is vice-chair of the board at the Canadian

Water Network.

He is also part of the committee overseeing the application of the Quebec Policy on Sustainable

Mobility, helps Femmessor support woman-owned and operated startups, and has advised the

Commissionner of the Environment of Canada on cleantech policy.

Andrew Jaramillo (moderator)

Andrew Jaramillo is a research assistant and graduate of the Lassonde School of Engineering, specializing in AI and is a developer of new emerging technologies. Having spent time working at IBM, his knowledge of the various frameworks and tools is extensive and he is constantly updating his skillset to reflect the fast-paced tech environment. 'TechTalk' is a series he crafted with DotsLive to bring live demos and tutorials straight from the masters that are designed to be informative and extremely interactive. He also hosts discussions about the impact technology has on our lives, as seen in his 'People-Driven Smart Policy' discussion.

IBM Panel - Quantum Computing

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