Heppelmann Named CEO At PTC
Heppelmann will succeed current CEO Richard Harrison who will now serve as the company’s executive chairman. Heppelmann, who will retain the president position and report directly to the company’s board, will officially take the reins of the CEO job on Oct. 1.
The COO post will not be filled, according to a company spokesperson.
Heppelmann joined PTC, previously known as Parametric Technology Corp., in 1998 when the company acquired Windchill Technology and its product lifecycle management (PLM) software. Heppelmann has served in multiple posts on PTC’s executive management team since then.
Windchill now accounts for about 50 percent of PTC’s sales and it is widely seen as the focus of the company’s future direction. Heppelmann “is widely credited with driving many of the most significant technology advancements” in PLM, the company said in a statement, and his elevation to CEO is “a natural evolution for the company,” the spokesperson said.
PTC has set an ambitious goal of 30 percent growth in software license sales for 2010.
As executive chairman Harrison will focus his efforts on key customer and investor relationships, according to the company.