Farewell and best wishes to Jon Hirschtick

Farewell and best wishes to Jon Hirschtick

JonEarly last week, SolidWorks founder Jon Hirschtick let employees know that he has decided to step back from SolidWorks and begin the next phase of his career. From the first days of the company (when it was known as Winchester Design Systems), Jon has embodied the SolidWorks philosophy of focusing on the needs of engineers and designers, and creating an experience that is both powerful and simple. We at SolidWorks will miss Jon and his spirit, and wish him all the best in the future.

Earlier this week, I asked SolidWorks employees to share some of their favorite memories of Jon, which I have included below. I would also like to welcome any customers, partners, resellers or other members of the SolidWorks community to share their stories in the comments section below. I'll let Bertrand go first.

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When I came on to SolidWorks as a young territory sales manager, one of the first questions Jon asked me was "Bertrand, what is the most important thing we can measure at SolidWorks?" Being in sales, I answered that it must be something like quarterly sales numbers, or revenue. Jon replied that "the most important thing we can measure is how many users we're helping be productive every day." Jon has always been focused on the end user, and how we can help them turn their ideas into reality. And while Jon was always focused on the day-to-day business, he was always looking five, ten, fifteen years down the road, identifying the coming trends. Thanks again to Jon for leadership and vision. – Bertrand Sicot

... Continued