Andrew Anagnost vs Ajei Gopal

Andrew Anagnost

CEO of Autodesk

BIO: Mr. Andrew Anagnost has been Chief Executive Officer and President at Autodesk, Inc. since June 19, 2017. Mr. Anagnost served as Senior Vice President of Industry Strategy & Marketing at Autodesk Limited. Mr. Anagnost served as Senior Vice President of Business Strategy and Marketing at Autodesk, Inc. since March 2012 and served as its Chief Marketing Officer and Interim Co-Chief Executive Officer from February 8, 2017 to June 19, 2017. He was responsible for overall marketing direction and resources including the Autodesk's vertical and cross-industry strategy and marketing, business model transformation and evolution. He has more than 20 years of product, business and marketing experience that he has to leadership of Industry Strategy and Marketing (ISM) for Autodesk. Prior to this role, Mr. Anagnost served as Vice President of Product Suites, Web Services & Subscription (SWSS) organization where he drove strategy and business development for the Design Suite Family and the Subscription offering. He was responsible for defining the business model that is helping to transform Autodesk from a desktop software provider to a hybrid desktop and online solutions provider. Mr. Anagnost began his career at Autodesk as Partners Program Manager in 1997. During the six years that followed, Mr. Anagnost served as Director of New Business Development and Director of Product Management. He served as Senior Director of Marketing at Autodesk, Inc. since 2003 and promoted to Senior Director of CAD, CAE and ETO products. In 2007, he was named Vice President of CAD/CAE products for the manufacturing division. Prior to joining Autodesk, He was employed at Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company as a composite structures engineer and later worked as a propulsion installation engineer. After leaving Lockheed, he completed a Doctorate degree at Stanford University and spent several years under contract with NASA and as a NRC post-doctoral fellow. After his fellowship, Mr. Anagnost held positions in sales, marketing and product management for the ventured funded simulation vendor EXA Corporation. He has been a Director at Autodesk, Inc. since June 19, 2017. Mr. Anagnost holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the California State University and holds both an MS in Engineering Science and a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering and Computer Science from Stanford University.

Ajei Gopal

CEO of Procore Technologies

BIO: Ajei Gopal has served as our Chief Executive Officer since November 2025 and as a member of our board of directors since September 2025. He previously held the role of CEO Designate from September to November 2025. Ajei has over 35 years of proven experience leading global technology companies at scale, most recently serving as the President and CEO of Ansys from 2017 to 2025. Under Ajei's leadership, Ansys approximately tripled revenue and quadrupled market value, and became the global leader in engineering simulation – joining the ranks of the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100, and earning international recognition as a top employer. Ajei's tenure at Ansys culminated in leading the company through its 35 billion USD acquisition by Synopsys in July 2025, after which he was appointed to Synopsys's board of directors. Ajei previously served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Ansys in 2016, and as a member of its board of directors from 2011 until its acquisition in July 2025. Prior to Ansys, Ajei served as an operating partner at Silver Lake from 2013 to 2016, which included a secondment as interim President and Chief Operating Officer at Symantec in 2016. Ajei was also Senior Vice President and General Manager at Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company from 2011 until 2013, Executive Vice President and General Manager at CA Technologies from 2006 until 2011 and Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Symantec from 2004 to 2006. Prior to Symantec, Ajei served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of ReefEdge Networks, a company he cofounded in 2000. His earlier career included various roles at IBM Research and later in IBM's Software Group from 1991 to 2000, and he began his professional journey at Bell Communications Research in 1984. Ajei currently serves on the board of directors of Fiserv and Synopsys and on the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University. Besides Ansys, he previously served on the board of directors of Citrix Systems. Ajei holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University and a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, which named him a distinguished alumnus. He holds 23 U.S. patents.