Rob Thew is a senior researcher and group leader in the Quantum Technologies group at the University of Geneva. He is also chair of the Strategic Research Agenda Work Group in the context of the European Quantum Flagship initiative. He studied at the University of Queensland in Australia, completing his honours under the supervision of Profs Gerard Milburn and Bill Munro, before working with Profs Michael Nielsen and Andrew White. He received his PhD from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, in the group of Profs Nicolas Gisin and Hugo Zbinden in 2006. In 2012, with Prof Hugo Zbinden, they started the Quantum technologies group. Rob Thew is an expert in quantum communication, spanning fundamental to applied topics, and from technology development to systems integration. More recently he is also working on quantum sensing in bio and molecular systems. He has been involved in European projects since FP5, including a series of Coordinating and Support Actions focusing on strategic road mapping for quantum technologies in Europe for over a decade. He is currently part of the Quantum flagship coordination office and the CSA project QFlag, charged with coordinating the Quantum flagship initiative. He is also the founding Editor-in-Chief for the IOP journal: Quantum Science and Technology.