Gian Paolo Bassi, who took over the reins of SOLIDWORKS from Bertrand Sicot seven years ago, has been replaced by Manish Kumar, previously the company’s vice president of R&D. Bassi will move to the newly created position of executive vice president of 3DEXPERIENCE Works at Dassault Systèmes, the company of which SOLIDWORKS is part.
3DEXPERIENCE Works was created in 2019 and is a set of cloud-based applications for users of the desktop-based SOLIDWORKS.
Bassi came to lead R&D from Think3, founded by ace pitchman and ex-CEO of EDA giant Cadence, Joe Costello. Think3 floundered in the U.S. and washed up in Italy, where it was entrusted to Bassi before it sunk again.
With this announcement, it’s time to update the list SOLIDWORKS CEOs:
- Manish Kumar, 2022-
- Gian Paolo Bassi, 7 years from 2015 to 2022
- Bertrand Sicot, 4 years from 2011 to 2015
- Jeff Ray, 3.5 years from 2007 to 2010
- John McEleney, 12 years from 1996 to 2007
- Jon Hirschtick, 3 years from 1993 to 1996
Reading the Tea Leaves
“I’m afraid Gian Paolo faces a fate similar to his predecessors, Bertrand Sicot and Jeff Ray—fade into the woodwork and never to be heard from again publicly,” says MCAD industry veteran Jeff Rowe.
But it is also being argued that while Bassi was CEO, he was only in charge of a single product. As executive VP of Dassault Systèmes, he joins the inner circle of Dassault Systèmes’ leaders—and in charge of a product line in which the company’s interest clearly lies.
Matt Lombard, long-time industry observer, author of the SolidWorks Bible and moderator of the independent user forum, CAD Forum, sees Bassi’s move as a promotion to a role at Dassault Systèmes with 3DEXPERIENCE, the company’s platform of choice for the future—and an exit from an aging desktop product.
“Bassi has been moved up to the portion of the company that is intended to move forward,” says Lombard, adding that Bassi is now “leading the revamped attempt to overthrow SOLIDWORKS.”
On With the Show
Normally the one to present news of cool projects and products designed by SOLIDWORKS during the keynote, Bassi himself was now the news. The hosts, in a news studio, snag Bassi after his keynote as he walks past to ask him about his new role. Bassi was quick to explain his new role as one that would indeed let him concentrate on what he had been hired to do in the first place—as well as praise his replacement.
“The community will see a dedicated focus,” said Bassi. “They will see a very well-known person in Manish. He has been with SOLIDWORKS his whole career. He has an amazing technical background and also knows the business. This means we can continue the tradition of SOLIDWORKS, expanding SOLIDWORKS. It has amazing deep roots in the design space. My job will be to focus on expansion of the design space. Design is changing. Design is not only about the modeling experience. It is about bringing the product all the way into manufacturing, simulation, data management… every stage of the design process and all the way into the supply chain, into marketing and sales. This is what our clients do. They don't stop with modeling.”
As Executive Vice President, Bassi will “lead an extensive organization dedicated to the continued growth of 3DEXPERIENCE Works,” according to company’s press release issued simultaneously with the start of the event.
Indeed, Bassi was seen as “modernizing” SOLIDWORKS, a broad term for providing multidisciplinary tools—electromechanical vs purely mechanical design, for example. He put SOLIDWORKS users, if not SOLIDWORKS itself, on the cloud instead of the desktop, using databases rather than part files and being collaborative rather than standalone. He also pushed SOLIDWORKS to be world aware and environmentally conscious under Bernard Charlès, the visionary leader of Dassault Systèmes. Charlès has for years sought to remold SOLIDWORKS into a modern application that fits his holistic vision.
Bassi, when promoted to CEO from his R&D position, was to have brought on this transformation. But simultaneously providing care and upkeep of the existing codebase and userbase may have proved impossible.
With his new role, Bassi can concentrate on making 3DEXPERIENCE enticing for the SOLIDWORKS userbase and leave the care and upkeep of the legacy product to Manish Kumar.
What We Know About Manish Kumar
While similar in having been in charge of R&D, Manish Kumar and Gian Paolo Bassi also offer contrast. The expressive Bassi is quick with a smile and an answer, is a natural on stage and on camera. Kumar is quiet and thoughtful. Tall and polite. In his LinkedIn profile, he thanks you for reading it.
Bassi has a degree in mechanical engineering. A mechanical engineering degree has been invaluable for leaders of MCAD software companies. The secret handshake of MEs has served to bond its leadership to its userbase, many of whom have a similar education, or as designers, speak the same language. Previous SOLIDWORKS CEOs Jon Hirschtick and John McEleney had both endeared themselves to users with their BSME degrees.
An engineering education seemed to be recognized as bona fide by Bernard Charlès, who holds a PhD in mechanical engineering. PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann is also educated as a mechanical engineer. Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk, has a PhD in aeronautical engineering and computer Science. Tony Hemmelgarn, CEO of Siemens Digital Industries Software, has an engineering technology degree. Ajei Gopal, CEO of ANSYS, has a degree in mechanical engineering as well as a PhD in computer science.
Manish Kumar comes from the developer side. Kumar graduated from India’s prestigious IIT (Delhi) with a degree in computer science. He worked for a year and a half at Geometric Software Solutions before taking a software development position at SOLIDWORKS in December of 1999 when the company was in its 5th year of releasing software. Kumar earned a master’s degree in IT/Software Engineering from Harvard in 2008.
For a developer to rise through the ranks to the highest office in the design and simulation software industry may seem rare, but Kumar is proud of his programming skills and eagerness to show how his skills can be of assistance to the mechanical engineers and designers at the core of the SOLIDWORKS user community. At 3DEXPERIENCE World, he mentions his use of the software, in which his code is inherent, to design a desk.
The change of leadership for SOLIDWORKS may be a continuation of a reorganization at Dassault Systèmes. Many changes to Dassault Systèmes’ executive committee were announced last Friday. Pascal Daloz will fully focus on his mission as chief operating officer. Rouven Bergmann, previously COO of Life Sciences, was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer and will be reporting to Daloz. Bergmann holds master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and business administration as well as a PhD in economics and finance.
“The growth of SOLIDWORKS, fueled by its continuous leading innovation technology, will continue and accelerate under Manish,” announced Philippe Laufer, Executive Vice President, Global Brands, Dassault Systèmes in the company’s press release.