Carl Bass | |
|---|---|
 Former Autodesk CEO Carl Bass | |
| Born | May 18, 1957 |
| Occupation(s) | Former CEO and President of Autodesk |
| Spouse | Daryl Austern |
Carl Bass is a former president and chief executive officer of Autodesk, Inc., [1] a maker of professional 3D design software and consumer applications, and was a co-founder of Ithaca Software, [2] which commercialized HOOPS, a 3D graphics system. Bass has been credited with expanding Autodesk beyond its core AutoCAD software through acquisitions and new product developments [3] and transitioning from 2D to 3D model-based design. [2]
Early life and education
Bass was born in New York, New York to a chemist father and school teacher mother. After starting at Cornell University, Bass took a break to build boats, furniture, and sculpture in Seattle and Maine for five years. He returned to Cornell and graduated with Bachelor of Arts in mathematics in 1983.[ citation needed]
Career
In 1981, Bass co-founded a computer graphics company called Flying Moose Systems and Graphics Ltd., which became Ithaca Software in 1986.[ citation needed] The company commercialized HOOPS, a 3D graphics system originally developed at Cornell University in the mid-1980s. Bass served as Ithaca Software’s chief technology officer and CEO.[ citation needed] He joined Autodesk when the company acquired Ithaca Software in 1993, serving as the chief architect for AutoCAD. [2] In 1995, Bass was forced out by Autodesk’s then president and CEO Carol Bartz, only to be rehired five months later, after top Autodesk engineers said they needed Bass’s software development skills. [4]
Bass left Autodesk in 1999 to launch Buzzsaw, [5] an online service for management of construction projects, where he served as president and CEO. [2] Bass returned to Autodesk when it acquired the company in 2001. [5] In addition to being the company's president and CEO from 2006 through 2017, Bass held a number of high-level positions at Autodesk, including executive vice president and chief strategy officer (2001 to 2002); senior executive vice president of the Design Solutions Group (2002 to 2004); chief operating officer (2004 to 2006); and interim chief financial officer (2008 to 2009). [6]
Tenure at Autodesk
In 2006, Carol Bartz stepped down as Autodesk’s president and CEO, naming Bass as her replacement. [7]
During his tenure as CEO, Bass focused on expanding the company beyond its core AutoCAD software through acquisitions and new product development, [3] and transitioning from 2D to 3D design. [2] He emphasized vertical markets focusing on model-based design, simulation, and lifecycle management. [2] Under his direction, Autodesk introduced consumer-oriented products such as SketchBook, a mobile painting and drawing app with more than 7 million users as of Nov. 2011. [8] Bass helped lead the company to develop Building Information Modeling (BIM) and generative design technologies. [9] In March 2008, Autodesk was ranked number 25 on Fast Company's list of "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies." [10]
Bass serves on the Board of Directors of Autodesk, HP Inc., Zendesk Inc., Planet, VELO3D, Formlabs Inc, Box, and Built Robotics. [1] [11] He also serves on the board of trustees of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Art Center College of Design, and California College of the Arts, and is a member of the advisory boards of Cornell Computing and Information Science, UC Berkeley School of Information, and UC Berkeley College of Engineering. [1] He currently acts as an advisor to Zoox Inc. and a special advisor to Alphabet CEO Larry Page. [12]
Bass announced that he would be stepping down as Autodesk's CEO effective on February 8, 2017. He remains a board member and special advisor to the company. [13]
Personal life
Bass owns a workshop near his home in Berkeley, Calif., [4] where he designs and fabricates objects made from wood, metal and stone. Bass’ projects have included furniture, sculpture and a walk-in wooden rocket ship he built for his children, [14] which is on permanent display at Chabot Science Center.
References
- ^ a b c "Carl Bass". News Room. Autodesk. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f "Carl Bass". Executive Profile. Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ a b "The Carl Bass interview". Interviews. Develop3D. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ a b Flinn, Ryan. "Autodesk's Bass Applies Woodshop Lessons to His Design-Software Business". News. Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ a b Menezes, Deelip. "A Conversation With Carl Bass - Part 2". Deelip.com. Deelip.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ "Carl Bass". Technology. Forbes. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Lee, Ellen (18 January 2006). "Carol Bartz stepping down as Autodesk CEO, president". Business. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ Temple, James (27 November 2011). "Autodesk CEO Carl Bass talks about 3-D and more". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Roopinder Tara, Carl Bass Brings Autodesk Into Its Golden Age. Engineering.com. https://www.engineering.com/DesignSoftware/DesignSoftwareArticles/ArticleID/11247/Carl-Bass-Brings-Autodesk-Into-Its-Golden-Age.aspx?e_src=relart
- ^ "The World's Most Innovative Companies". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ "Box Announces Appointment of Carl Bass, Former President and CEO of Autodesk, to Its Board of Directors". Business (Press release). Box.com. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ Loizos, Connie (10 February 2017). "Carl Bass on his surprising Autodesk exit — and what's next". TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- ^ "Autodesk CEO Carl Bass To Resign; Reiterates Non-GAAP Business Outlook". NASDAQ.com. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ Anders, George. "Cutting-Edge Executives". The Wealth Report. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 April 2012.