In this episode of the Sunny Ray Show, host Sunny Ray speaks with Brian Lenahan, founder and chair of the Quantum Strategy Institute, about his path from a multi generation Canadian family into a 25 year banking career at TD and eventually into quantum computing strategy. Lenahan explains why he treats quantum as an evolution rather than a revolution, describing how he built QSI as a volunteer, philanthropic network to help organizations understand practical applications of quantum sensing, communication, and computing. He recounts retiring at 54, recovering from health issues, and enrolling in MIT Sloan's AI strategy program in 2016, which led to consulting work and four AI books in four years. The conversation traces how his banking observations about slow institutional tech adoption, his early attendance at quantum conferences with no buyers present, and his genealogy research all shaped his current mission. Ray and Lenahan also swap stories about using AI tools in daily life, from personal AI infrastructure to genealogy storytelling, before closing on how QSI stays independent and expense free.
A former TD Bank exec turned MIT trained strategist explains why quantum computing, not AI, may be the next major technology shift.
Tell us a bit about what you guys are doing at the Quantum Strategy Institute.
I set up the Quantum Strategy Institute five years ago to help accelerate adoption of quantum technologies like sensing, communication, and computing. Coming from banking, I wanted to understand the practical applications of this new technology. Big players like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are investing billions, and organizations are asking what it can do for them, much like they asked about AI back in 2016. We write reports, attend conferences, and stay very philanthropic in focus.
What did 25 years inside a top 10 bank teach you about how big institutions adopt new tech and where they get it wrong?
I started when we barely had computers, monochrome screens, pre internet. In senior roles I saw projects take two years or more because you had to incorporate several areas and prioritize IT budgets. Digitizing could take two to ten years given capital infrastructure and team adoption. That stuck with me, so I always brought IT people into early planning sessions instead of waiting six months, since we needed to know constraints upfront.
Most 54 year old retirees slow down, but you enrolled at MIT Sloan. Walk us through that decision.
I had health problems and it took six months to get my health back. During that time I realized I needed purpose. Since I'd always been the business lead on IT projects, I looked for a current, interesting business and technology area, and in 2016 that was artificial intelligence, before it was commercial. I did MIT's AI strategy program with 500 people worldwide, one of the greatest experiences of my life, and afterward the phone started ringing.
Four AI books in four years, including a best seller. What was the question driving you that fast?
I've never had writer's block, so those four books came quickly. The first was about what AI is, the second about using AI in coaching called Digital Coach, the third about how students or entry level people can leverage AI, and the last, Deep Health, about using tools like watches and scales to improve health. Once I had a formula down after the first book, the rest of the topics came naturally.
Around 2019 you started asking what platform AI runs on next. How did that question land on quantum specifically?
Companies told me some problems were just too hard for traditional computers, like large molecule life science problems or optimization in traffic and finance. I started getting invited to quantum conferences and noticed only researchers, physicists, and vendors, no buyers. I wondered if it was just a chandelier that would never do anything, but kept attending, learned it was actually rooted in one hundred year old science, and realized there was real opportunity.
Quantum Boost came out in May 2021 and the Quantum Strategy Institute launched four months later. What was the moment quantum stopped feeling like a ten year science project and started feeling like a boardroom problem?
Quantum Boost came from conversations where I kept explaining quantum over and over, so I wrote a book in simple business language. For QSI, I asked my network where the users were, and people from Nvidia, Google, and various banks said they had the same problem getting their C suite to even discuss it. So we built a volunteer organization to help executives understand possibilities, timelines, and adoption steps.
Give us the one paragraph version of the Quantum Strategy Institute today. Who's in the network, what do you do, who pays you?
I was purposeful in setting it up as a non revenue, volunteer organization. We don't charge for our reports, we place them on our website, and our conference attendances aren't paid for, because I had a responsibility not to compete with the organizations that employ our volunteers. We're about 25 people focused on relevant topics, like a report we just finished on quantum compliance, regulations, and standards, which are still very much the wild west.
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