After 28 years at Autodesk, including the last six as senior vice president and general manager of Autodesk Construction Solutions, Jim Lynch has said he will retire from the architecture, engineering and construction software provider effective April 1 and hand the reins of the group to executive vice president of AEC Solutions, Amy Bunszel.

The company’s construction products, such as Autodesk Construction Cloud, will be back under the management of one person, rather than spread across divisions. Bunszel has previously led the development of major Autodesk design tools such as Revit, AutoCAD and the Forma cloud design platform.

In a discussion about the changes he’s seen in the industry over his long tenure, Lynch said he believes it’s the right time for construction and design to be handled under the same roof at the software giant.

“Contractors have really matured in terms of their interest and adoption of digital technology,” he said, noting there is still more to do. “We’ve scratched the surface, but they get it. They understand that to maximize, to make the most out of technology to drive better outcomes, in terms of predictability, in terms of safety and sustainability, they understand the need to modify some of their processes and how they receive information, and how they deal with that information, and how they collaborate.”

Lynch said that he does not plan to leave the AEC software space entirely after April 1.

“I’m going to continue to be engaged,” he says. “I plan to do some consulting, have one gig lined up already. I’m probably going to be signing up for three or four [corporate] boards for construction technology startups. I plan to stay close to the industry and to the leaders in it. I believe I can help the industry continue to move forward.”

After 28 years at Autodesk, including the last six as senior vice president and general manager of Autodesk Construction Solutions, Jim Lynch has said he will retire from the architecture, engineering and construction software provider effective April 1 and hand the reins of the group to executive vice president of AEC Solutions, Amy Bunszel.

The company’s construction products, such as Autodesk Construction Cloud, will be back under the management of one person, rather than spread across divisions. Bunszel has previously led the development of major Autodesk design tools such as Revit, AutoCAD and the Forma cloud design platform.

In a discussion about the changes he’s seen in the industry over his long tenure, Lynch said he believes it’s the right time for construction and design to be handled under the same roof at the software giant.

“Contractors have really matured in terms of their interest and adoption of digital technology,” he said, noting there is still more to do. “We’ve scratched the surface, but they get it. They understand that to maximize, to make the most out of technology to drive better outcomes, in terms of predictability, in terms of safety and sustainability, they understand the need to modify some of their processes and how they receive information, and how they deal with that information, and how they collaborate.”

Lynch said that he does not plan to leave the AEC software space entirely after April 1.

“I’m going to continue to be engaged,” he says. “I plan to do some consulting, have one gig lined up already. I’m probably going to be signing up for three or four [corporate] boards for construction technology startups. I plan to stay close to the industry and to the leaders in it. I believe I can help the industry continue to move forward.”