Ian Howell
Bob Batcheler
Andrew Centauro
Jim Forester
Marni Hoyle
Dave Plunkett
Vic Sanchez

Ian Howell
Chief Executive Officer

Ian is a seasoned AEC software company executive with global experience and perspective, leading initiatives in the U.S.A., Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. He continues to drive the development and delivery of innovative software technologies that will facilitate the re-engineering of work processes for the AEC industry.

Prior to leading Newforma, Ian served as Vice President at Citadon, spearheading initiatives in business development, network operations, quality assurance, product management and marketing. Before that, Ian gained extensive experience in the AEC software industry, serving as director of the AEC Market Group for Autodesk, as director of AEC Products for Alias Research, Inc., and as managing director at Rucaps Australia. Professionally, Ian is a qualified architect and benefits from real world project experience as managing director for the architectural firm Malone Buchan Ednie-Brown in Sydney, Australia, as director and architect at Oldham Boas Ednie-Brown, as project architect at the Public Works Department both in Perth, Western Australia, and as CAD manager at George Trew Dunn Beckles-Wilson Bowes & Partners, in London, UK.

Ian was a founder of the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) and currently serves on the Board of Direction for the buildingSMART Alliance. He has also served on the board of FIATECH and as a member of the industry advisory board for the Center of Integrated Facility Engineering at Stanford University.

Ian was a commissioned officer in the Australian Army Reserve, retiring with a rank of Senior Captain, a resident at the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School, and an award-winning student at the Western Australian Institute of Technology, where he studied architecture.

Bob Batcheler
Vice President, Industry Marketing and Product Management

Bob brings to Newforma an extraordinary variety and depth of experience related to AEC technology, including 11 years as a practicing professional in the AEC industry and 19 years in the AEC technology industry. His experience in business development and product planning is invaluable in bridging Newforma's vision with its viability, ensuring that Newforma solutions address real needs within realistic time-to-market schedules.

Bob’s AEC technology experience includes serving as Building Industry Liaison, Director of Product Management, Director of Marketing, Channel Marketing Manager, and Industry Marketing Manager at Autodesk, Inc. Prior to that, he was a Special Projects Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Product Planner, and Consultant for Softdesk, Inc., as well as a sales representative for Premier Design Systems, Inc. His experience in the AEC industry includes serving as Engineering Manager at Kamber Engineering, Inc.; Project Engineer at Black & Veatch; and Site Liaison Engineer and Structural Engineer at Bechtel Power Corporation. Bob has also served as construction field inspector for the Norfolk ( Virginia ) Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Bob earned both a BS and MS in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University and registration as a Professional Engineer.

Andrew Centauro
Chief Financial Officer

Andy's proficiency at increasing shareholder value has contributed to the successful sale of three companies in 20 years. One of his methods is to leverage technology to maximize company performance and shareholder value. His financial and operational experience embraces e-commerce, publishing, software, manufacturing and consumer products. Andy's diverse industry and functional background makes him well suited to leverage his strategic, operational and financial strengths

Before joining Newforma, Andy was Chief Financial Officer of Blue Dolphin Group, Inc., which was sold to Zinio Inc. in 2005. While there, Andy negotiated three venture capital financing rounds. In addition to his financial role, Andy was also responsible for developing, implementing and managing corporate strategy and operations for this e-commerce business.

Previously Andy held the position of Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations at R.S. Means Co., a subsidiary of CMD Group. This $160M Atlanta-based provider of technology information services which was sold to Reed Elsevier in 2000. Under Andy,s leadership, the company expanded its operations internationally and grew combined revenues to $60M through new business opportunities and strategic alliances.

Other positions include chief financial officer of Marcliff Corporation, a $70M international manufacturer and distributor of consumer products based in Chelsea, Mass. Andy has also held a range of finance-based executive positions with Blodgett Corporation, General Cinema Corporation and PepsiCo, Inc.

Andy Centauro holds an M.B.A from Boston College and a B.S.B.A. in accounting from Boston University.

Jim Forester , P.E.
Chief Data Architect

Specializing in engineering software applications, Jim brings more than two decades of professional experience to his post at Newforma. As a respected authority on industry standards who thoroughly understands the information sharing needs in AEC, he has been an active speaker and remains involved in research that affects and benefits Newforma's customers.

Before joining Newforma, Jim was founder and president of Marinsoft, Inc, which delivered engineering software, design content, and consulting services to the AEC industry. While at Marinsoft, he provided his extensive object-data-modeling and engineering expertise to the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) and the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). He also contributed to ongoing research done by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

Prior to founding Marinsoft, Jim served as manager of Building Engineering Products at Softdesk, Inc., where he was responsible for software development for the HVAC, electric, piping, and plumbing products. Before that, Jim served as manager of engineering products at ASG, The Archsoft Group. He started his career as an engineer for the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and then joined the leading building engineering firm, Syska & Hennessy, serving as senior associate and project engineer.

Jim is a member of the America Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA.

Marni Hoyle
Vice President, Marketing

Marni brings to Newforma over 25 years of experience marketing analytic and end-user application software to industry verticals and growing revenue at both private and public companies. Before joining the Newforma team, Marni was Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Product Management for ProfitLogic, a retail analytics and optimization software company acquired by Oracle in July, 2005.  During her tenure at ProfitLogic, she was responsible for driving the successful launch of a second major application solution in ProfitLogic’s Optimization Suite while continuing to build the company’s market presence in the retail industry.

Prior to ProfitLogic, Marni held executive marketing positions at Centra Software and at Torrent Systems, a data warehousing and data mining infrastructure software company, where she was responsible for strategic positioning, product management, and lead generation. Ascential Software acquired Torrent Systems in November 2001. Marni also served as Vice President of Enterprise Services at NewsEdge Corporation, a global provider of electronic news and business information, where she had P&L responsibility for $70 million in revenue and 240 employees in sales, marketing, client support and consulting services. Marni joined NewsEdge in 1989 as the ninth employee and helped lead the company for ten years, including a successful IPO and two acquisitions, elevating NewsEdge to an $80MM market leader before the company’s acquisition by Thomson Corporation.

Marni earned a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the University of Chicago .

Dave Plunkett
Vice President, Engineering

Dave is responsible for building and running Newforma’s software engineering group. He has 20 years of experience in the CAD software development industry, most recently serving as Director of Desktop Development in the AEC division of Autodesk, Inc. He has a successful track record of building and directing high-performing software development teams that create state-of-the-art technical products.

Prior to serving as Autodesk’s Director of Desktop Development, Dave also served as Software Engineering Manager for the company. He came to Autodesk after founding CadZooks, Inc., a software development company that specialized in custom tools and applications for AutoCAD. (Autodesk bought CadZooks in 1997.) As founder of CadZooks, Dave created and developed RealityCheck, a real-time animation and rendering program for AutoCAD users. Its adoption by a wide array of users and private-label companies is what first attracted Autodesk to CadZooks.

Prior to founding CadZooks, Dave was the project lead and software developer for Solbourne, Inc; served on the technical staff at Unicad, Inc.; and was research and teaching assistant at Purdue University .

Dave earned both a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University .

Vic Sanchez
Vice President, Sales and Service

Vic bolsters the Newforma team with over 20 years of international sales and executive management experience in software and technology. His customer-focused selling has produced high growth and strong revenues throughout his career. Before joining Newforma, Vic was CEO of Lavandoo Technologies S.A. (LTSA), a Swiss based technology start-up that develops contact and performance management software for mobile devices. During his tenure, Vic helped establish Lavandoo as the leading provider of contact and performance management software products and tools for mobile devices and helped secure second round funding to ensure the company’s product expansion.

Prior to Lavandoo, Vic was Vice Presidentand Managing Director of Autodesk for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As Managing Director, Sanchez was responsible for over $300 million in revenue and 400 employees covering 30 countries, six product lines and four target industries. Under his leadership, he grew market share in all target markets by more than 10% and increased average revenue per sales head by over 25% in thirty-six months. Prior to Autodesk, Vic was VP and General Manager for Iomega EMEA from 1998 to 2000 where he grew the firm’s European operation’s profitability by 80%. Vic has also held sales and management positions at Silicon Graphics and Hewlett Packard.

Vic earned a BS in Chemistry and Computer Science from the University of Miami and an MS in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University.