# Denis Branthonne

> Denis Branthonne is the Singapore-based French founder and CEO of Novade. An MIT-trained mechanical engineer and former Autodesk executive, he built a field-management software business around construction teams’ everyday workflows, expanding from Singapore into international markets.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Novade Solutions
- **Organizations:** Novade Solutions, Autodesk, Arthur D. Little, French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore CEO Tech Club
- **Nationality:** French
- **Education:** École de l’Arsenal de Cherbourg, ENSTA ParisTech, Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Leadership Excellence through Awareness and Practice (LEAP), executive programme, INSEAD
- **Known for:** Founded and leads Novade, whose current company page reports 25 countries, 10,000 sites and 150,000 users., Led Autodesk operations in Asia and emerging markets before founding Novade., Helped take Novade into Malaysia in 2015 and Europe in 2016.

## Career timeline

- **1993-1994** — Studied mechanical engineering at MIT.
- **1990s** — Worked in submarine engineering in Cherbourg, including technical responsibility for the Scorpène programme.
- **1999** — Married; describes leaving defence for strategy consulting around this period.
- **2002-2013** — Worked at Autodesk in Asia, ultimately leading Asia and emerging markets.
- **2013** — Left Autodesk and began building Novade.
- **2014** — Novade began operations in Singapore.
- **2015** — Novade signed its first contract in Malaysia.
- **2016** — Novade signed its first European contracts.
- **2020** — Novade completed Series B financing with SIG and Vulcan Capital, alongside Wavemaker.
- **2021** — Novade announced an integration with Autodesk Construction Cloud.
- **2022** — Novade formally launched Novade Lite for specialist contractors and home builders.

## Achievements

- Founded and leads Novade, whose current company page reports 25 countries, 10,000 sites and 150,000 users.
- Led Autodesk operations in Asia and emerging markets before founding Novade.
- Helped take Novade into Malaysia in 2015 and Europe in 2016.
- Co-president of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore CEO Tech Club.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Novade reported that Branthonne joined an AI panel at the REDAS Digital Future Symposium 2026, where the company was first runner-up in the REDAS Innovation Challenge.
- **2026-04** — Argued publicly that construction AI needs standardised processes, structured field data and consistent adoption.
- **2025-11** — Appeared on Archit Gadicherla’s Signal from Noise podcast to discuss AI solutions for contractors.

## Links

- Website: https://www.novade.net/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisbranthonne/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/denis-branthonne
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12