Carl Bass - Remaking Autodesk in His Image

When Carl Bass took over the CEO position, many speculated that Carl, a techie, would lead Autodesk back to its technological roots. There was some evidence of that at Autodesk's '07 Press Day:

• a "Minority Report" like computer interface called Touchwell
• a hand held screen on an articulated arm (Boomcam) that when moved, will position the image around a virtual model

The above technologies may not be available in Autodesk's 2008 products, but may indicate a new push towards establishing Autodesk as a technological innovator, a status this company has not enjoyed since its very early days.

Though technology is probably important to Carl's vision of Autodesk features, the years that have passed since Carl worked writing code have given him a bigger picture. Carl chose the day to educate us on major global factors impacting design. Autodesk sees booming economies overseas and earths burgeoning population as an opportunity to sell more software. (I see it as a fast developing global crises but what do I know?)

Carl Bass (left) and Amar Hanspal of Autodesk

Carl also seems to be reworking Autodesk with a personnel reorganization, something that has been rumored among the press for a couple of weeks. Amar Hanspal seems to the lead beneficiary as VP of a division that combines the AutoCAD/AutoCAD LT divisions (called the Platform division) and the GIS division. A (youngish) Jeff Kowalski is the new CTO.

Comments

[Ed Goldberg AIA, NCARB]

Seems that Carl sees the MCAD and product design areas as a big arena for Autodesk. Up to now, AEC has been a large area.

As for Alias' Applied Science lab, Carl is using its personnel and expertise to spark innovation.

Jeff Kowalski is hoping to coordinate all divisions so that the entire organization is aware of the capabilities of all Autodesk's software solutions. Look forward to better integration between AEC, MCAD, and Entertainment.

[Al Dean]

Ha.. wish I could have seen the Boomcam. That stuff was developed by Alias' Applied Science lab about 15 years ago under the direction of Bill Buxton.. Have autodesk been rooting around in the cupboards in Toronto I wonder?