Amar Hanspal

Amar is a senior business leader with 30+ years of experience driving business and technology transformation. Prior to joining Bright Machines in 2018, he was at Autodesk, where he drove the transformation of the design software leader’s product portfolio from on-premise to SaaS and its business model from one based on perpetual licenses to subscription. He led Autodesk into the cloud and enabled the company’s 12 million customers to access their designs on nearly any device.

As Autodesk’s co-CEO and chief product officer, Amar oversaw the company’s entire software portfolio, including its innovative manufacturing and construction applications. In addition to sitting on Bright Machines’ board, Amar also sits on the boards of BeyondTrust and Aspen Technology, and advises early stage venture companies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Bombay University and a master’s in mechanical engineering from State University New York, and he has completed the executive managerial program at Stanford University.

Who is your hero in real life?
My wife. She has shown intelligence, compassion and love in the face of all the hardships she has seen over the years. She is just amazing.

What/who inspires you?
I’m inspired by lasting businesses that make a real difference in the world. The transformative impact of companies like Amazon, Google and Tesla/SpaceX is tremendous and should be what every business aims for.

Best book you’ve read in the last year?
“Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Hariri. It made me think deeply about our role in the universe.

Favorite robot?
Ava from “Ex-Machina”. Smart, tough and just plain badass.