ANSYS appoints Dr Ajei Gopal as President & COO
Pennsylvania-based ANSYS, Inc. has appointed an IIT-Bombay alumnus Dr Ajei S Gopal as its President and Chief Operating Officer. In the company statement on its leadership succession plan announced on Tuesday also stated that James E Cashman, who has served as ANSYS’ Chief Executive Officer since 2000, will become Chairman of the Board of Directors effective January 1, 2017.
Dr Gopal, a technology industry veteran who has served as a member of the ANSYS Board since 2011 will continue to serve on the Board. Gopal will become the Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2017. Ronald W Hovsepian, who currently serves as Chairman of the ANSYS Board, will assume the role of Lead Independent Director as part of this transition.
Gopal said, “I am honored by the opportunity to lead ANSYS. With an accelerating pace of innovation, ANSYS is on an exciting growth trajectory as it executes on its long-term plans. Jim’s vision and tremendous leadership have set a high bar, and I am committed to building on our standard of excellence and pushing the boundaries of innovation to help customers solve their most complex design challenges. I look forward to working with Jim, the Board, our leadership team, employees and customers around the globe to continue our legacy and capture the vast market opportunity ahead to drive stockholder value.”
Hovsepian said, “We are grateful to Jim for his remarkable leadership. He led ANSYS’ transformation from a $50 million revenue company into the global market leader for simulation technology with nearly $1 billion in revenue, creating significant value for stockholders... We all look forward to benefitting from his continued guidance, vision and expertise as Chairman.”
Cashman said, “Over the past 20 years, we have grown ANSYS to become the world’s leading engineering software provider thanks to our relentless focus on innovation and commitment to our customers. Today, ANSYS has the most talented employees in the industry, a best-in-class portfolio, more than 45,000 customers worldwide and a sound growth strategy to take us into the future. As we look to scale to $2 billion in revenues and beyond, I strongly believe that now is the right time to begin the transition to the next generation of leadership. Attracting Ajei, a technology industry veteran with an exceptional track record, is a huge win for ANSYS. I have come to know and admire Ajei as a fellow director, and I have no doubt that his outstanding leadership, unique perspective and appreciation for ANSYS’ culture, people and organization make him the right choice to serve as our next leader during this exciting time.”
Gopal began his career as a member of the technical staff at Bell Communications Research. He has 23 US patents to his name and has a doctorate in computer science from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay. Gopal is a 25-year industry veteran with extensive management and business development experience at large software and technology companies. He has held leadership roles at companies including Symantec, Hewlett-Packard, CA Technologies and IBM, and also brings start-up experience, having co-founded ReefEdge Networks. He joined Silver Lake in April 2013 as an operating partner.
Gopal’s appointment as Cashman’s successor follows an extensive search conducted by the ANSYS Board with the assistance of Heidrick & Struggles, a leading independent executive search firm. The search included a review of both internal and external candidates.
Founded in 1970, ANSYS employs almost 3,000 professionals, many of them experts in engineering fields such as finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, electronics and electromagnetics, and design optimization. Headquartered south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, ANSYS has more than 75 strategic sales locations throughout the world with a network of channel partners in 40+ countries.