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Randall S. Newton, July 16, 2007
Dassault Systemes announced that SolidWorks Chief Operating Officer
Jeff Ray is promoted to Chief Executive Officer, replacing John McEleney.
The transition is at the request of McEleney, who is stepping down for
personal reasons.
SolidWorks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault Systemes; DS CEO
Bernard Charles was in attendance at the meeting at SolidWorks
headquarters in Concord, Massachusetts to announce the transition.
Ray
brings more than 25 years of experience in global technology sales,
management, and operations to SolidWorks. Ray was first recruited as
SolidWorks COO in 2003, McEleney told me, to eventually become CEO. As
COO, Ray was responsible for the sales, distribution, and marketing
infrastructure of the company. The sales channel, in particular, is
known to be fiercely loyal to SolidWorks.
McEleney is retiring to embrace new personal opportunities related to
family life transitions. He will remain closely linked to the company as
a member of the SolidWorks board of directors and the Dassault Systemes
global management team until the end of the year.
In the official announcement, Dassault charged Ray with the mission
to make “SolidWorks the industry standard in mainstream 3D CAD.”
The Johnny Mac Legacy
McEleney,
known to colleagues and customers as “Johnny Mac,” came to SolidWorks as
vice president of Far East distribution in 1996 and built the company’s
first sales channel in the region. He developed the strategy for the
company’s Solution Partner Program, which has since grown to be a model
program in the industry. As vice president of product marketing, he
recruited most of the current product marketing team. McEleney also
played a key role in creating SolidWorks Subscription Services, a
recurring revenue stream that nets the company more than $30 million
annually. As COO, McEleney led SolidWorks operations, from marketing and
sales to order administration and customer support.
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