Newsbrief: Carl Bass has stepped down as both the President and CEO of Autodesk, a role he has held for over a decade. Bass will remain on the company’s board of directors and will serve as a special advisor as it transitions to a new CEO.
Autodesk, creator of game development tools like Maya, Stingray, and 3DS Max, first toyed with the idea of a new CEO 18 months ago, but put plans on hold following stock acquisitions by Sachem Head Capital Management. The conversation recently picked back up after the two companies forged a new agreement.
No new CEO has been appointed as of Bass’ departure, so instead Senior VP and chief marketing officer Andrew Anagnost and senior VP and chief product officer Amar Hanspal will take over as interim co-CEOs while leading the search for a replacement.
Two other board members, Scott Ferguson and Jeff Clark, have resigned from their position on the board of directors as part of the agreement between Autodesk and investor Sachem Head.
Autodesk restructured to focus on cloud-based tools and subscription-only services last year, and the interim co-CEOs will keep the company and its properties focused along this path through its “next stage of growth” as they spearhead the search for a new CEO.