Carl Bass is a former president and chief executive officer of

Autodesk Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartere ...

, Inc., a maker of professional 3D design software and consumer applications, and was a co-founder of Ithaca Software, which commercialized

HOOPS Hoop or Hoops may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * Hoops (TV series), ''Hoops'' (TV series), an American animated series Music * Hoops (band), an American indie pop band * Hoops (album), ''Hoops'' (album), a 2015 albu ...

, a 3D graphics system. Bass has been credited with expanding Autodesk beyond its core

AutoCAD AutoCAD is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting software application. Developed and marketed by Autodesk, AutoCAD was first released in December 1982 as a desktop app running on microcomputers with internal graphics controllers. ...

software through acquisitions and new product developments and transitioning from 2D to 3D model-based design.

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 Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, Bass took a break to build boats, furniture, and sculpture in

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and

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for five years. He returned to Cornell and graduated with Bachelor of Arts in mathematics in 1983.

Career

In 1981, Bass co-founded a computer graphics company called Flying Moose Systems and Graphics Ltd., which became Ithaca Software in 1986. 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. He joined Autodesk when the company acquired Ithaca Software in 1993, serving as the chief architect for AutoCAD. In 1995, Bass was forced out by Autodesk’s then president and CEO

Carol Bartz Carol Ann Bartz (born August 28, 1948) is an American business executive, former president and CEO of the internet services company Yahoo!, and former chairman, president, and CEO at architectural and engineering design software company Autodesk. ...

, only to be rehired five months later, after top Autodesk engineers said they needed Bass’s software development skills. Bass left Autodesk in 1999 to launch Buzzsaw, an online service for management of construction projects, where he served as president and CEO. Bass returned to Autodesk when it acquired the company in 2001. 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).

Tenure at Autodesk

In 2006,

stepped down as Autodesk’s president and CEO, naming Bass as her replacement. During his tenure as CEO, Bass focused on expanding the company beyond its core AutoCAD software through acquisitions and new product development, and transitioning from 2D to 3D design. He emphasized vertical markets focusing on model-based design, simulation, and lifecycle management. 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. Bass helped lead the company to develop Building Information Modeling (BIM) and generative design technologies. In March 2008, Autodesk was ranked number 25 on

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's list of "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies." Bass serves on the Board of Directors of

HP Inc. HP Inc. is an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, that develops personal computers (PCs), printers and related supplies, as well as 3D printing solutions. It was formed on Novembe ...

, Zendesk Inc., Planet, VELO3D, Formlabs Inc,

Box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

, and Built Robotics. He also serves on the board of trustees of the Smithsonian's

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Inst ...

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred ...

, and

California College of the Arts California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996 it opened a second campus in Sa ...

, and is a member of the advisory boards of Cornell Computing and Information Science,

UC Berkeley School of Information The University of California, Berkeley, School of Information, also known as the UC Berkeley School of Information or the I School, is a graduate school and, created in 1994, the newest of the schools at the University of California, Berkele ...

, and

UC Berkeley College of Engineering The University of California, Berkeley College of Engineering, branded as Berkeley Engineering, is the engineering wing of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1931, the ...

. He currently acts as an advisor to Zoox Inc. and a special advisor to Alphabet CEO Larry Page. 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.

Personal life

Bass owns a workshop near his home in Berkeley, Calif., 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, which is on permanent display at Chabot Science Center.

References

External links

Carl Bass
on

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Carl Bass Bio Page on Autodesk

Carl Bass on Twitter

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Carl Living people American computer businesspeople American company founders American technology chief executives 1957 births Businesspeople from New York City Cornell University alumni Autodesk people