PTC CEO Heppelmann Stepping Down

Jim Heppelmann, longtime CEO of PTC, is stepping down to be replaced by the president of PTC's Service Lifecycle Management business.

While Heppelann, who was with PTC for 26 years, 13 of them as CEO, is retiring, he also becomes chairman of the board.

He is being succeeded as CEO by Neil Barua with the transition planned for early next year.

"I'm immensely proud of all that PTC has accomplished during my 26 years with the company,” said Heppelmann. “PTC has become a premier digital transformation partner to our customers, with the most differentiated software portfolio in our industry. 

“Having worked closely with Neil since the ServiceMax acquisition, I can attest first-hand to his focus on our customers' and employees' success, his understanding of PTC's market opportunities for the entire software portfolio and his principles of financial and operational discipline.

Among other major accomplishments that put PTC on the IoT map in a big way, Heppelmann also will be remembered for his live, on-state presentations using sophisticated IoT and virtual and augmented reality technology at the company’s LiveWorx event in the Seaport area of Boston.

He also would frequently meet with the press and analysts for a private, freewheeling question-and-answer session at the event.

For more than a decade, Heppelmann has been the highly visible face of PTC in the market.