April 23, 2008

Autodesk CEO Carl Bass Wins CAD Society Leadership Award

Denver, Colo. - The CAD Society, the industry association for CAD users, announced Carl Bass, president and CEO of Autodesk as the winner of its 2008 Leadership Award. The CAD Society recognized Bass for his efforts to promote sustainable product design and eco-friendly construction.
As head of the company that supplies the majority of the world's design software for architects, engineers, product designers, and manufacturers, Bass has used this position to influence the entire industry into higher awareness of the need, and the potential for environmentally friendly design in all aspects of life. Bass not only pushed for progressive policies within Autodesk, but has brought awareness of energy and material consumption into the software tools it sells. Revit, an Autodesk product that combines 3D visualization with database information to manage large building projects, includes tools to calculate expected energy needs for a proposed structure. 
 
Revit allows architects to see how design changes in fenestration, materials, mechanical systems, and technology use affects the building's operating costs. Autodesk Inventor has recently been expanded to include information on the carbon footprint of a product under design, and to allow better materials choices by the designers. The company is also anticipating more advanced tools to assist in environmentally conscious product decisions across the coming year.
 
The CAD Society Award for Leadership is awarded to an individual in the CAD industry whose outstanding technical and/or business leadership over the past year has significantly contributed to the benefit of the CAD community. Formerly Bass was Autodesk's chief operating officer, responsible for worldwide sales, marketing and product development. Earlier roles included chief strategy officer and executive vice president of emerging business. He also served as chief technology officer (CTO) and vice president of the AECAD group, responsible for the design and development of AutoCAD and AEC products. 
 
When Autodesk spun off its Buzzsaw division as a separate start-up, Bass left to be its chairman, CEO and president. He returned to Autodesk when Buzzsaw was reacquired. Bass co-founded Ithaca Software, the developers of HOOPS, which was acquired by Autodesk in 1993. 
 
Bass serves on the Board of Directors of Autodesk and iRise. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Cornell University. Annual CAD Society Awards are presented at the Congress for the Future of Engineering Software (COFES), a yearly industry conference.  The theme of the 2008 conference is sustainable design.