Bentley Systems announced that Michael Campbell has been appointed chief product officer and will lead more than 1,500 colleagues in the company’s product advancement group. Campbell joins Bentley from product engineering software leader PTC Inc., where he has spent his whole career since earning his mechanical engineering degree from Boston University in 1995. He has had product leadership responsibility for PTC’s mainstream design applications and for its IoT acquisitions, and most recently served as executive vice president and general manager for its augmented reality offerings. Campbell will be responsible for defining Bentley’s product strategy and for managing product development to advance the company’s leadership in infrastructure engineering software. He will report to Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Cumins.
Cumins said, “Mike brings to Bentley his vast experience of software innovation at PTC, and a unique perspective on the evolution of engineering software applications to incorporate cloud services. We share a belief that infrastructure engineering can learn from product engineering’s advancements in going digital, including leveraging digital twins and industrializing digital workflows.”
Expanded Executive Responsibilities
Following its IPO in 2020 after 36 years, Bentley Systems anticipates naturally continuing executive retirements, accelerating opportunities for significant internal promotions.
James Lawton has been named to the newly created role of chief digital officer. Lawton joined Bentley with the acquisition of geosciences software company Seequent in 2021. He will lead Bentley’s digital experience strategy, as well as the IT organization, shaping and delivering a seamless experience for Bentley’s users and colleagues across all digital touch points.
Claire Rutkowski, after six years as chief information officer, is now SVP, CIO champion, leading solutions and advocacy for engineering firms, who contribute slightly more than half of Bentley’s annual recurring revenue. Rutkowski joined Bentley in 2016 from the position of CIO at major infrastructure engineering firm Stantec/MWH.
Suzanne Little has been promoted to the newly created role of chief colleague success officer, as Chief Talent Officer Florence Zheng has become an adviser, for organizational succession, to Bentley’s board. Little will lead Bentley’s global HR functions and teams, along with expanded responsibility for enhancing the overall colleague experience. Previously, as vice president of talent, Little led global talent operations, including talent acquisition, talent management, total rewards, and talent systems and analytics.