# Andrew Anagnost

> Andrew Anagnost is the President and CEO of Autodesk, the $41+ billion design and engineering software giant behind AutoCAD, Revit, Maya, and Fusion 360. A PhD aeronautical engineer who once simulated Mars rovers at NASA Ames, he joined Autodesk as a product manager in 1997 and spent two decades reshaping it from the inside - architecting the company's landmark pivot from perpetual licenses to cloud subscriptions before taking the top job in 2017. Under his tenure, revenue has grown from ~$2B to over $6B and the company entered the Fortune 500. Off the clock, he is CSUN's largest-ever alumni donor, having committed $22.1 million to the public university that he credits with saving him from falling through the cracks.

- **Role:** President and Chief Executive Officer at Autodesk
- **Organizations:** Autodesk, California State University Northridge (CSUN), NASA Ames Research Center (former), Lockheed Martin (former)
- **From:** Van Nuys, California, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), Master of Science, Engineering Science, Stanford University, PhD, Aeronautical Engineering and Computer Science, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Grew Autodesk revenue from approximately $2 billion (2017) to $6.13 billion (fiscal year 2025), Led Autodesk into the Fortune 500, Expanded Autodesk market cap to over $41 billion

## Career timeline

- **1987** — Graduated CSUN with BS in Mechanical Engineering
- **1990-1992** — National Research Council fellow at NASA Ames Research Center; worked on Mars Pathfinder rover simulation
- **1992** — Worked as composite structures and propulsion engineer at Lockheed Martin
- **1992-1997** — Joined Exa Corporation in Boston (computational fluid dynamics software)
- **1997** — Joined Autodesk as a product manager
- **2000s** — Led development of Autodesk Inventor; grew the product revenue five-fold to over $500 million
- **2012-2017** — Senior VP of Business Strategy & Marketing; Chief Marketing Officer - architected Autodesk's SaaS business model transition
- **2017** — Appointed President and CEO of Autodesk following Carl Bass's departure
- **2018** — Completed Autodesk's full transition to subscription-based model
- **2018** — Acquired PlanGrid for $875 million - Autodesk's largest acquisition at the time
- **2019** — Acquired BuildingConnected for $275 million; received Distinguished Alumni Award from CSUN
- **2019** — Donated $300,000 to establish Teresa Sendra-Anagnost Memorial Scholarship Endowment at CSUN
- **2020-2023** — Guided Autodesk through pandemic; continued cloud and AI investment strategy
- **2025** — Committed $20 million additional gift to CSUN; total giving reaches $22.1 million
- **2025** — CSUN renamed College of Engineering and Computer Science as the Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science
- **2025** — Navigated two activist investor campaigns by Starboard Value

## Achievements

- Grew Autodesk revenue from approximately $2 billion (2017) to $6.13 billion (fiscal year 2025)
- Led Autodesk into the Fortune 500
- Expanded Autodesk market cap to over $41 billion
- Architected and executed Autodesk's pivot from perpetual licenses to SaaS cloud subscriptions
- Led Autodesk Inventor's growth from a startup product to $500M+ revenue
- Acquired PlanGrid ($875M) and BuildingConnected ($275M), extending Autodesk into construction tech
- CSUN's single largest alumni donor in history ($22.1 million total)
- CSUN renamed its College of Engineering and Computer Science in his honor (2025)
- Received CSUN Distinguished Alumni Award (2019)
- Survived two activist investor campaigns from Starboard Value while maintaining strategic direction

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — CSUN renamed its College of Engineering and Computer Science as the Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science after his $22.1M total giving
- **2025-07** — Publicly discussed navigating two activist investor campaigns from Starboard Value while defending Autodesk's strategic direction
- **2025-02** — Announced 9% workforce reduction (~1,350 employees) as part of a sales and marketing optimization initiative
- **2024-12** — Wrote and spoke publicly about how AI tools can help fix the United States' crumbling infrastructure
- **2025-12** — Discussed AI-driven simulation and modeling for efficiency gains in Q FY2026 earnings commentary

## Links

- Website: https://www.autodesk.com/company/newsroom/corporate-info/executive-bios/andrew-anagnost
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewanagnost
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/andrew_anagnost
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/autodesk

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/andrew-anagnost
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-18