SAN RAFAEL, Calif., June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, announced today that Carl Bass, has been promoted to chief operating officer (COO), overseeing Autodesk's sales, marketing and product development, including Discreet and Location-Based Services. Bass was formerly senior executive vice president of the Design Solutions Group (DSG). Carol Bartz will continue in her existing role as CEO, president and chairman of the board of Autodesk.

As head of DSG, Bass drove an increased focus on vertical markets and improved the company's business model, including the introduction of the subscription program. Bass drove the company to a planned annual release cycle for the AutoCAD family of products and successfully stewarded the company's product line transition from 2D to 3D and model-based design. Additionally, Bass was instrumental driving several growth initiatives including expansion into the Chinese market and developing the company's lifecycle management strategy.

In connection with the announcement, Bartz said, "I am pleased to announce Carl's well-deserved promotion to COO. He has done an outstanding job managing DSG. I am confident he will continue to build on that existing strong foundation, bring his strategic leadership capabilities to the other divisions, and increase synergy across the company."

Bass first joined Autodesk in 1993, through the acquisition of Ithaca Software, the firm he co-founded. Since that time, he has held a variety of key positions at the company including chief technology officer, chief strategy officer, executive vice president of Autodesk Ventures and vice president of the AECAD group. In addition, Bass served as chairman, CEO and president of Buzzsaw from 1999 to 2001.

Bass serves on the Board of Directors of Serena Software, a leading supplier of software that automates change to enterprise applications.

Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

NOTE: Autodesk and Discreet are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

     Contact:       Sue Pirri, 415-507-6467
     Email:         sue.pirri@autodesk.com
     PR Contact:    Nicole Pack, 415-507-6282
     Email:         nicole.pack@autodesk.com


SOURCE  Autodesk, Inc.
    -0-                             06/18/2004
    /CONTACT:  Sue Pirri, +1-415-507-6467, or sue.pirri@autodesk.com, or
Nicole Pack, +1-415-507-6282, or nicole.pack@autodesk.com, both of
Autodesk, Inc./
    /Web site:  http://www.autodesk.com /
    (ADSK)

CO:  Autodesk, Inc.
ST:  California
IN:  CPR STW MLM
SU:  PER

JP-RN 
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8678 06/18/2004 08:30 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com