About Jim Lynch

Jim Lynch headshot

Jim Lynch

Jim Lynch is driving digital evolution in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, using his extensive executive experience in AEC technology to serve on multiple boards and provide expert consulting and advisory services. He specializes in vertical market development, strategic product planning, go-to-market execution, Merger and Acquisition (M&A) leadership, and building high-performing organizations.

As senior vice president and general manager of Autodesk Construction Solutions, Jim led Autodesk’s efforts to create and deliver products and services aimed at accelerating the construction industry’s transformation from analog-based processes to digital workflows.

Jim managed all aspects of business operations within Autodesk Construction Solutions, including product design and development, marketing, sales, and customer success. He and his team focused on delivering innovative, cloud-based solutions to help the global construction industry reduce risk and increase margins using Autodesk construction products.

In his 20+ year tenure at Autodesk, Jim held a number of key leadership roles in AEC product development, product management, and marketing efforts. He was a key contributor in scaling Revit into one of Autodesk’s flagship products and establishing Building Information Modeling (BIM) as an industry standard.

As a 30-year veteran of the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) industry, Jim has served in a variety of senior management roles in the AEC, manufacturing, and electronic design automation industries. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Fitchburg State College.

Experience

  • 2018 - 2025 • Boston, MA

    Was responsible for leading Autodesk’s global construction solutions business.

    • Led a 1500-person global product, sales, marketing, and customer success organization to deliver innovative, cloud-based solutions for the construction industry, accelerating the industry’s transformation from analog-based processes to digital workflow.

    • Extended Autodesk’s brand in AEC by establishing the company’s brand in construction.

    • Was responsible for business strategy and execution efforts to establish Autodesk as the premier construction platform provider.

    • Drove double-digit year/year growth for this transformative business.

    • Led the acquisition and integration of 6 companies (Assemble, Plangrid, BuildingConnected, Pype, ProEst, Payapps/GCPay) to expand the Autodesk construction portfolio.

  • 2015 - 2018 • Waltham, MA

    Was responsible for global product strategy for Autodesk’s entire building and infrastructure portfolio.

    • Led an 800+ person global organization in delivering an AEC portfolio of desktop and cloud services.

    • Collaborated closely with sales and industry marketing leadership to establish and execute AEC business strategy.

    • Contributed to Autodesk’s business transformation from perpetual software to cloud and mobile by delivering cloud-native and cloud-connected applications across the building and infrastructure project lifecycle.

    • Led acqui-hire efforts to secure a native web and mobile development team.

    • Launched the Autodesk Building Ops cloud service, expanding Autodesk’s footprint into operations and maintenance.

  • 2012 - 2015 • Waltham, MA

    Led all product efforts for building Autodesk’s industry portfolio, supporting the building project lifecycle from conceptual design through detailed design, to pre-construction planning and construction execution.

    • Led a 500+ person global team responsible for designing and developing Autodesk’s building industry portfolio, which includes Revit, Building Design Suites, M.A.P. Fabrication products, Navisworks, BIM360, Formit, and Green Building Studio.

    • Was a key contributor to 19% Y/Y revenue growth for the AEC portfolio.

    • Led Autodesk’s expansion into construction by acquiring Vela Systems and launching BIM360. In its first year in the market, BIM360 was the fastest-growing product/service in Autodesk’s history.

    • Established Autodesk’s role in conceptual BIM and computational BIM through the introduction of Formit and Dynamo.

    • Transitioned the organization’s development approach to Agile, resulting in faster release cadence, higher quality, deeper customer and community engagement, and more deeply engaged development teams.

  • 2009 - 2012 • Waltham, MA

    Directed all business operations for AEC Division’s largest business line, with revenues exceeding $300M. Was responsible for global business and product strategy for an industry-leading building design product portfolio.

    • Led a 350+ person global organization located in New England, China, and Poland.

    • Delivered a landmark Revit family product release addressing top customer requests, including ease of use, performance, analysis, and visualization.

    • Integrated key analysis capabilities into Revit and introduced the industry’s first integrated sustainable design and analysis product, incorporating SAAS and cloud computing technologies.

    • Established a customer loyalty program targeted at increasing customer retention through increased customer interaction and involvement and the delivery of key features through a subscription program.

    • Drove global expansion through increased investment targeted at growing installed bases and product adoption in Brazil, China, India, and Russia.

  • 2005 - 2009 • Waltham, MA

    Had end-to-end responsibility for all aspects of marketing across 3 AEC industry segments for the $500M division.

    • Consistently exceeded global marketing revenue targets over a 4-year period – 16% CAGR.

    • Led the creation of the division’s marketing strategy and the on-time delivery of marketing deliverables for product launch, sales and customer events, and public relations. Incorporated Web 2.0 methods to increase awareness of the AEC portfolio, increase customer intimacy, and generate demand for AEC products.

    • Led branding efforts to expand Autodesk’s leadership in BIM through thought leadership initiatives and category expansion. Efforts resulted in 13% unaided awareness and 33% aided awareness of Autodesk as a BIM leader.

    • Sponsored the acquisition of multiple companies, including Navisworks, Robot, Green Building Studio, and Ecotect, in support of the division's strategy to expand analysis and sustainability offerings.

    • Implemented the Preferred Industry Partner Program to expand the AEC partner ecosystem.

    • Served on Autodesk’s Marketing Leadership team, which is responsible for establishing worldwide marketing goals, identifying global campaigns, and dispersing the company's marketing budget.

  • 2003 - 2005 • Manchester, NH

    Was responsible for developing product strategies, product roadmaps, worldwide localization plans, business cases, market requirement documents, and pricing for all Building Solutions Division product lines.

    • Grew revenue 55% y/y from 2003 to 2004 to $124M, and 43% from 2004 to 2005 to $178M.

    • Created a new user-centered design approach to improve ease of use and learning of the product portfolio.

    • Established product revenue and seat targets working with the WW sales organization.

    • Continued global expansion of the portfolio by introducing localized products throughout Asia and Europe.

  • 2001 - 2003 • Manchester, NH

    Managed the global product development activities for the Building Industry Division. Guided product strategies to grow the division's business worldwide.

    • Directed the activities of a 125-person worldwide development team located in NH, CA, Germany, Sweden, and Singapore.

    • Accelerated the development of the building engineering solution suite by leading efforts to acquire and integrate key assets of PointGruppen, a Swedish company with expertise in building engineering.

    • Delivered multiple customer-focused releases of Architectural Desktop (ADT), resulting in 43% revenue growth year over year and an installed base of over 65,000 seats worldwide.

    • Facilitated the integration of technology and resources after the acquisition of Revit Corp.

  • 1999 - 2001 • Manchester, NH

    Led the product development activities of a 60-person team for the Building Industry Division. Managed multiple development projects and multiple teams located in NH and Germany.

    • Implemented the stage development process across the organization to provide early warnings of problems, minimize integration errors, and provide demonstrable signs of progress.

    • Staffed and led a new team in the definition, design, and development of a solution set to address the needs of the building engineering disciplines (HVAC, electrical, and plumbing).

    • Leveraged partnerships to complement internal product development by establishing a strategic relationship with a third-party solution provider, PointGruppen, to assist in the development of building engineering solutions.

    • Led a multi-disciplined team through the market group’s strategic planning effort, culminating in a presentation to, and subsequent approval by, the company’s executive staff.

  • 1997 - 1999 • Tualatin, OR

    Staffed and managed a group of 24 software engineers in the design and implementation of part modeling-related functionality for Inventor, a next-generation Windows-based 3D mechanical CAD product.

    • Was a liaison to the third-party technology provider Spatial Technology. Was responsible for the integration of, and extensions to, third-party components ACIS and DCM.

    • Established development objectives and priorities, and led efforts to provide interoperability with the first-generation product Mechanical Desktop.

  • 1995 - 1997 • Beaverton, OR

    Was responsible for managing and growing the worldwide customer education and training business.

    • Built a repeatable, scalable business by standardizing the classroom setup, registration, and delivery process.

    • Implemented a web-based distribution system for all training materials worldwide.

    • Exceeded the 1995 and 1996 revenue plan and managed a $3.7M budget under the plan.

  • 1992 – 1995 • Beaverton, OR

    Managed all Oregon-based division activities. Was responsible for leading a multi-disciplined team in the development and marketing of the thermal analysis and cable design product lines.

    • Implemented strategy for increased cabling market penetration, which included a partnership with IBM to act as an alternate distribution channel.

    • Initiated co-development agreements with SDRC, PTC, and Dassault.

  • 1988 – 1992 • Beaverton, OR

    Managed a customer-focused engineering team in the design, development, and maintenance of new cabling and thermal analysis product lines.

    • Successfully developed and introduced two new design products, Logical Cable and Physical Cable, which generated over $1M in revenues in the first year of availability.

    • Executed the successful transition of the business Physical Cable to SDRC when Mentor Graphics decided to exit the electro-mechanical market. Jointly developed the IDEAS Master Series Harness Design application for 3D cable routing with SDRC.

  • 1987 - 1988 • Bedford, MA

    Managed a team of development engineers in the design and implementation of customer-funded software projects for a broad spectrum of CAD applications. Worked closely with key customers to determine project requirements and deliverables.

  • 1984 - 1987 • Bedford, MA

    Was responsible for the design and development of customer-funded software. Interacted with customers to gather project requirements and obtain the sign-off of project specifications. All projects were completed on or before their deadlines.