Indian-origin software industry veteran named CEO of US firm

New York, August 30

An IIT Bombay alumnus and software industry veteran has been named CEO of a leading US company that produces engineering simulation software used for testing product designs across a wide spectrum of industries, including rockets and wearable technology.

Ajei Gopal, 54, will become the CEO of Pennsylvania-based ANSYS with effect from January 1 next year.

Gopal, a 25-year technology industry veteran who has served as a member of the ANSYS Board since 2011, has been appointed president and Chief Operating Officer of the company effective immediately and will continue to serve on the Board.

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James Cashman, who has served as ANSYS’ Chief Executive Officer since 2000, will become Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective from January 2017.

ANSYS said Gopal had extensive management and business development experience at large software and technology companies. He has held leadership roles at companies, including Symantec, Hewlett-Packard and IBM.

Gopal has served as interim president and COO at California-based technology company Symantec, leading the company through the recruitment of a permanent CEO.

He was senior vice-president and general manager at Hewlett-Packard from 2011 and has worked at IBM from 1991 to 2000. He began his career as a member of the technical staff at Bell Communications Research.

Gopal has 23 US patents to his name and has a doctorate in computer science from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

The company said having Gopal on board is “a huge win for ANSYS”.

“I have no doubt that his outstanding leadership, unique perspective and appreciation for ANSYS’ culture, people and organisation make him the right choice to serve as our next leader during this exciting time,” Ashman said.

Gopal said he was “honoured” to lead ANSYS. “I am committed to building on our standard of excellence and pushing the boundaries of innovation to help customers solve their most complex design challenges,” he said.

Ronald Hovsepian, who currently serves as chairman of the ANSYS Board, said Gopal brought a “proven track record, expertise managing the scale and complexity of a global multi-billion dollar company and critical skills in software strategy, engineering, product management and development”.

Headquartered in Pennsylvania, ANSYS has more than 75 strategic sales locations throughout the world with a network of channel partners in over 40 countries.

ANSYS develops, markets and supports engineering simulation software used to predict how product designs will behave in real-world environments. PTI