Why Techplexity is rewriting leadership

AI, quantum, and blockchain are converging at breakneck speed, outpacing policy and challenging traditional governance models. In this age of Techplexity, Lea Hogg sits down with two of Malta’s leading tech voices—Prof André Xuereb and Angele Giuliano—to map a strategic path forward.

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Professor Xuereb, Malta’s Ambassador for Digital Affairs, is a pioneer in quantum optics, optomechanics, and quantum thermodynamics. He is also the founder of a quantum cybersecurity company and serves as chief scientific officer at a machine-vision startup. Angele Giuliano, meanwhile, is Ambassador of the European Innovation Council and a seasoned entrepreneur with over 25 years in tech, health, education, and smart cities. A vocal advocate for gender equality in STEM, she mentors startups, advises on EU funding, and helps scale businesses across borders.

We no longer live in an era where technologies evolve in isolation. Today, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and blockchain technologies are transforming everything at once—and in unpredictable ways. This accelerating, entangled convergence has a name: Techplexity. It captures the unprecedented pace of technological change, as disciplines converge and reinvent each other in real time.

So, how should leaders rethink strategy when transformation is the norm rather than the exception? More crucially, how do we ensure humans remain in control, guiding ethics in the progress of technology?

Speaking with Techmag, Angele Giuliano, founder of a significant digital innovation hub, and Professor André Xuereb, Malta’s Ambassador for Digital Affairs and an expert in interdisciplinary technology strategy, offer complementary perspectives on these questions. Their insights uncover a compelling blueprint for thriving in what could be a chaotic technological revolution.

Techplexity, a term coined by former White House advisor Dr Pippa Malmgren, encapsulates the accelerating, tangled convergence of technologies that once advanced in isolation. As Professor André Xuereb warns, this makes long-term planning a minefield for innovators and policymakers. “In quantum technologies, the boundaries between quantum physics, materials science, computer science, complexity theory, and cryptography have become so blurred that they’re practically nonexistent,” explains Xuereb. This, he says, is both invigorating and makes forecasting even five years ahead feel like “staring into fog.”

It’s no longer possible to speak of artificial intelligence, biotech, blockchain, or quantum computing as standalone disciplines. Their interdependencies shape everything from how we treat cancer to how we secure digital boundaries. This is the reality of Techplexity: AI may interpret DNA, quantum might challenge cybersecurity, and blockchain may redefine global logistics. The lines have blurred, and exponential growth is being reprogrammed.

Building effective teams when tech boundaries are dissolving requires more than just technical fluency. It requires a mindset. As Angele Giuliano explains, “I’ve always employed for attitude and trained for skills when it comes to the building of teams that work across disciplines.” At the core of interdisciplinary collaboration, she believes, are people with “critical thinking, problem-solving, and a curiosity that allows one to push boundaries rather than block ideas.” Leadership in this landscape isn’t about control but direction. “I lead with passion, but more importantly, with vision. I share the what and then let my teams define the how.”

True innovation lies not in spreading thin across fields but in forging partnerships that allow depth to meet depth—a kind of intellectual fusion only possible when experts are willing to listen, adapt, and step outside their silos. Teams once divided by their training—engineers, physicists, and biologists—must now work together across a rapidly changing landscape. As Xuereb notes, “It’s in those ‘difficult’ conversations, when you admit what you don’t know, that real interdisciplinary innovation arises.” But as Professor Xuereb cautions, collaboration doesn’t mean abandoning depth. “It would be a fallacy to claim that since so much that is exciting is happening between disciplines, one can afford to be a jack of all trades and master of none,” he says. Rather than diluting expertise, Techplexity demands a renewed respect for specialisation—and the humility to bridge it. “I believe that the meeting of two experts in different domains is likely to be more profitable,” Xuereb adds.

But if innovation thrives on ambiguity, governance demands clarity. Policymakers are working in overdrive to regulate technologies they barely understand, made more complex by the speed of their convergence. “From the perspective of governance, there is an increasing feeling that policymakers are being expected to somehow keep up with all sorts of emerging technologies, including some that could impact strategic decisions such as national security,” Xuereb observes. “It is not too far-fetched to argue that social media platforms hold more real-world power than some countries.” Private tech companies can now command more influence than governments. The question isn’t just how to regulate AI or quantum, but how to govern when these tools evolve faster than regulatory frameworks can.

In such a volatile environment, leadership must also evolve. It’s not just policymakers who are under pressure—executives and innovators must also learn to lead through uncertainty, complexity, and constant change. As Ambassador for the European Innovation Council, Angele Giuliano embraces a leadership philosophy rooted in trust and autonomy. It’s a mindset suited to a world where strategic plans can become obsolete overnight. “The chart and structure to get there might change over a short period,” she says. “That’s why surrounding yourself with a variety of innovators is key, and so is having the humility to listen to those who know more than you.”

In the end, staying grounded in the whirlwind of Techplexity comes down to something both ancient and urgently modern. “We’ve lived through revolutions before. What’s different now is the speed at which this is happening,” says Angele Giuliano. It’s easy to outsource thought and even easier to surrender to complexity. But as Giuliano puts it, “We still need humans to be in the driving seat of the change.” Her advice is deceptively simple: keep learning, collaborate widely, and surround yourself with those who know more, but always steer by your values. “Use them as your North Star,” she urges, “as you sail these seas of change.”

With technology racing ahead, it’s the human compass that matters most.

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