Autodesk Appoints New President, CEO

 

Autodesk, Inc.’s board of directors has appointed Andrew Anagnost the company’s new president and CEO. Formerly interim co-CEO and chief marketing officer, he will also join the board of directors.

Mr. Anagnost began his career at Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Co. and as an NRC fellow at NASA Ames Research Center. After joining Autodesk in 1997, he held various technical and strategic roles. He led engineering for Autodesk Inventor, the company’s 3D model-based product design and engineering tool, growing revenue five-fold during his tenure. As senior vice president of business strategy and marketing, he led the company’s transition to a subscription-based business model and drove adoption of Autodesk’s cloud technologies.

“Autodesk transformed the design industry by bringing CAD to the PC 35 years ago, and in the last 10 years became the clear technology leader. We were first to bring design to the cloud and mobile, and now we’re bringing construction and manufacturing to the cloud as well,” says Mr. Anagnost. “I can’t wait to lead Autodesk into our next phase of growth, where we will combine business and product innovation to become an even more customer-focused company.”

Anagnost’s appointment follows the February 2017 resignation of the company’s former president and CEO, Carl Bass, and a comprehensive search process conducted by the board over the last four months.

Mr. Bass, Autodesk’s board director, expresses confidence in the appointment: “I look forward to working with him from my seat on the board and can’t wait to see where he takes Autodesk in the future.”

Autodesk also announced that Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, chief product officer and interim co-CEO, has decided to leave the company.

Mr. Anagnost says, “I want to thank Amar for his many important contributions to Autodesk’s culture and product line over his 30 years with the company. He is a great colleague and friend, and he will be missed.”