User:Stevep2007/sandbox james heppelmann

James E. Heppelmann (born September 4, 1964) is an American engineer and businessman. Since 2010, he has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of PTC (formerly Parametric Technology), a multinational software company he joined in January 1998 as Senior Vice President, Windchill Technology, when PTC acquired Windchill.

Early life and education
Heppelmann grew up in rural Minnesota on a dairy farm with his seven siblings. He received an introduction to mechanical engineering by repairing and maintaining the farm’s mechanical machinery. An older sister's success in engineering inspired his interest in engineering. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1987 from the University of Minnesota.

Career
Heppelmann joined PTC in 1998 when PTC acquired Windchill Technology, Inc., a product life cycle management (PLM) software company that he had co-founded in 1996.

Since taking the helm as CEO in 2010, Heppelmann has been known for integrating the internet of things (IoT) and augmented reality (AR) into the company's business strategy. He forged alliances with Microsoft to accelerate customer adoption of IoT and AR and Rockwell that included a $1 Billion investment

Heppelmann also oversees the PTC's heritage businesses, CREO, the mechanical computer-aided design CAD software system and Windchill PLM. Most recently, he led PTC to acquire Onshape, a computer-aided design (CAD) software system, delivered over the Internet as a Software as a Service (SaaS) to provide customers with a path to SaaS CAD cloud services. Heppelmann was appointed PTC's President and CEO in October, 2010 PTC.

Prior to Windchill Technologies, he was the Chief Technology Officer of Metaphase, a Control Data spin-off, now part of Siemens AG.

Boards of Directors

 * In March 2009 Heppelmann was elected to the PTC Board of Directors
 * He also sits on the Board of Directors of Sensata Technologies

Outside leadership activities

 * Heppelmann is a trustee of MassTLC, a technology association with the mission to accelerate growth, innovation, and the development of an inclusive tech ecosystem in Massachusetts.
 * He is also committed along with 800 CEOs of the world’s leading companies and business organizations to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion. It is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. The CEOs distinguish diversity and inclusion to be a social issue, not a competitive one.

Published work
Heppelmann co-authored with Harvard Business School Professor Michael E. Porter three articles on the transformational business impact of Internet of Things (IoT) on business for the Harvard Business Review:
 * (November 2014) How Smart, Connected Products are Transforming Competition. pp 65–88
 * (October 2015) How Smart, Connected Products are Transforming Companies. pp 97—114
 * (November 2017) Why Every Organization Needs an Augmented Reality Strategy. pp 46–62