{"id":2062,"date":"2017-02-07T09:17:56","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T14:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/inthefold\/?p=2062"},"modified":"2017-02-07T14:02:49","modified_gmt":"2017-02-07T19:02:49","slug":"letter-carl-bass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/inthefold\/letter-carl-bass\/","title":{"rendered":"A letter from Carl Bass"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Carl-Bass-Autodesk-8695\"<\/a>

Photo Credit: James Martin, CBS<\/p><\/div>\n

Many of you have seen the announcement we made this morning, but I wanted to take this opportunity to share my thoughts and plans with you directly. For the last couple of years, I\u2019ve been having discussions with the board about stepping down as CEO, and today we announced<\/a> that I will do so. I\u2019m pleased that I will be leaving the company in Amar and Andrew\u2019s capable hands while the board searches for a new CEO. \u00a0I know they\u2019ll do a great job at holding down the fort\u2014and I\u2019ll be honored if either is chosen to be the next CEO. I\u2019ll continue to serve on the Autodesk board and I will be here to help them and the board through the transition.<\/p>\n

I love Autodesk and am immensely proud of what we have created together, but it\u2019s time for me to do something new. Autodesk is doing very well and the financial markets are noticing. Our leadership team is strong, and our strategy is in place to go further and accomplish more than we could have ever imagined when I took over day-to-day operations as COO 14 years ago. Our transition to an all-subscription business model is well underway, we\u2019re enjoying early but strong success in the cloud and we have settled with our activist investors.\u00a0 Now seems like the right time, for both the company and for me.<\/p>\n

I am not leaving to spend more time with my family\u2014that presumes my family wants to spend more time with me. I will, however, be spending more time in my shop with my robots. I also have some other plans and will have more to say on what I\u2019m doing in the next few months.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a privilege to lead Autodesk, and\u00a0I feel very grateful to have worked with so many talented and passionate people. Together we have built a fantastic business and developed products that literally have changed how entire industries get their work done.<\/p>\n

Great, Good and Important<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first became CEO, people asked how I wanted to define Autodesk and I often answered somewhat cryptically, \u201cgreat, good and important.\u201d \u00a0In my mind, great companies are defined, first and foremost, by their financial performance. Good companies are defined by their values and culture and how they treat their employees, their customers and the communities in which they do business. And important companies make a real difference in the world.<\/p>\n

Being able to do all three is the most critical and difficult task any executive team faces. By almost any measure, I think we’ve done very well on all fronts.<\/p>\n