Dr. Biplab Sarkar named CEO of Vectorworks, Inc.

Today, global design and BIM software developer Vectorworks, Inc. announces Dr. Biplab Sarkar’s appointment to chief executive officer (CEO). Additionally, Darick DeHart and Steve Johnson have accepted positions as Vice President of Product Management and Vice President of Product Development, respectively, and will work closely with Sarkar to pursue future technology advancements for the Vectorworks software lines.

Accomplished Strategist

Prior to his new appointment, Sarkar served as Vectorworks’ Chief Technology Officer for eight years and as geometry manager before that. He also held various software engineering and R&D roles with ICEM Systems, Intergraph and Parametric Technology Corporation. Sarkar earned a Ph.D. in CAD and an M.S. in mechanical engineering at The Ohio State University, and a B.Tech. in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Khargpur.

01 – Dr. Biplab Sarkar, chief technology officer, Nemetschek Vectorworks, discussing Marionette and other new technologies coming to Vectorworks 2016 and beyond. He will succeed Sean Flaherty as CEO of Vectorworks, Inc.

Sarkar succeeds Sean Flaherty as CEO following a four-month selection process.

“Through numerous customer visits and with a steady eye on industry trends, Biplab has a clear vision of where we need to go as a company,” Flaherty said. “He’s a passionate leader who has built a large, multi-lingual and multi-location research and development team, complementing our overall doubling of staff in the past three years. This proven leadership, coupled with an unending commitment to innovation, design and technology, makes him the perfect choice to continue shaping the organization in a way that anticipates designers’ needs all around the world.”

Sarkar’s new role as CEO is a natural progression from his earlier position, where he continually sought out innovative technology and evaluated the competitive landscape to ensure that Vectorworks remained a best-in-class CAD and BIM solution for designers in the architecture, landscape and entertainment industries. Over the years, Sarkar was instrumental in the adoption of the Parasolid® modeling kernel for Vectorworks software, helping to advance its BIM capabilities by improving architectural modeling tools and support for interoperability, and overseeing the evolution of Renderworks into a premier rendering application, now built on the powerful CINEMA 4D render engine.

“I’m proud of the role that I played during this important chapter in Vectorworks’ history, and I look forward to driving a strategy that will ensure powerful technological advancements and our continued evolution as a company that’s passionate about design,” Sarkar said. “I’m deeply honored by this appointment and thank Sean for his many accomplishments and contributions that will enable our sustainable growth.”

In conjunction with the appointment of new positions at Vectorworks, the Nemetschek Group Supervisory Board has appointed Sean Flaherty to the full-time position of chief strategy officer. To learn more about this announcement, read the Nemetschek Group’s press release here.

Architosh Analysis

While the timing of this news might surprise many, including this author, the decision itself isn’t entirely surprising. Dr. Sarkar’s accomplishments alone in spearheading key technology directions—such as the Parasolid modeling kernel, Cinema 4D rendering engine integration and even things noted and shown at last year’s technology preview keynote at the Design Summit—all strongly demonstrate a command of market trends and strategic analysis of existent and emergent technologies, particularly the latter.