Inside Rui Ribeiro's New Quantum Economy Playbook

Rui Ribeiro, a university professor, researcher and partner at the consultancy aiteris, has published a new executive guide on preparing companies for the economic and strategic effects of quantum technologies. The book, "Leading the Quantum Economy: The Executive Playbook for Strategy, Security and Responsible Transformation," is available in English and in a Portuguese edition titled "Liderar a Economia Quântica."

The volume follows roughly a year of research and writing, and continues the work the author set out in his 2025 book "Bizgital Transformation." It is aimed at CEOs, CIOs, board members and other decision-makers rather than technologists. Its core argument is that quantum computing is not yet part of most companies' daily operations, but the questions it raises about security, strategy and talent are already becoming board-level concerns.

Ribeiro frames the challenge as a balance. In the book, he argues that organizations should neither exaggerate the near-term quantum future nor underestimate the work needed to prepare for it. He says he did not write a physics book, but a guide for leaders who need to decide what to protect, where it makes sense to experiment, and when an emerging technology starts to justify strategic decisions.

The book includes a "Quantum Readiness Framework" designed to help companies assess their preparedness, identify priority areas, structure pilot projects, evaluate suppliers and analyse results. It also aims to help managers separate concrete signs of value creation from the inflated expectations that often surround emerging technologies.

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Where the Book Argues the First Quantum Business Risks Will Appear

The book's practical value lies in the areas it chooses to prioritise and the decision criteria it offers, rather than in any claim that quantum computing is about to replace conventional systems.

Why Post-Quantum Cryptography Is Treated as a Near-Term Concern

Ribeiro gives particular attention to post-quantum cryptography. The argument is that advances in quantum computing could eventually undermine some cryptographic systems currently in use. That makes the transition a security question for some organizations before quantum computers become commercially widespread, because encrypted data or systems with long life cycles may need protection sooner.

Separating Hype from Strategic Signals

The guide's central stance is not that every company should invest in quantum computing immediately. Instead, it pushes leaders to answer more specific questions: what should be protected now, where is experimentation justified, which skills should be developed, which partners may be relevant, and what signals should move an organization from observing the technology to investing in it. The book argues the biggest risk is not moving too early or too late, but failing to build the internal capacity to recognize when quantum becomes a management issue rather than only a technology trend.

What the Quantum Readiness Framework Is For

The framework described in the book is meant to support different stages of preparation, from identifying priority areas and structuring pilot projects to assessing suppliers and reviewing results. That structure is presented as a way to put strategic discussion ahead of premature technology adoption, and to filter real value signals from excess expectations in an emerging field.

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Questions the Guide Puts on the CEO and CIO Agenda

The guide is a business publication rather than a market event, but its framework gives executives a concrete starting point for internal review.

  • Ask which encryption-dependent systems and long-lived data could be at risk from future quantum computing; the book flags post-quantum cryptography as the area requiring the earliest attention.
  • Use the book's "Quantum Readiness Framework" to identify priority areas, structure pilot projects and evaluate suppliers before making larger technology commitments.
  • Test the five questions Ribeiro poses—what to protect, where to experiment, which skills to build, which partners to consider, and what signals would justify investment—to turn quantum from a vague trend into a defined management decision.