Newforma - Executive Team

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Executive Team

Ian Howell
Bob Batcheler
Dave Plunkett
Vic Sanchez

Ian Howell
Chief Executive Officer

Ian is an experienced 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 brings to Newforma an extraordinary variety and depth of experience, 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.

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 President and Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Autodesk. 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.