Bentley
Systems, Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software
company, today announced that effective July 1, 2024, Greg Bentley will
transition from Bentley Systems’ CEO to Executive Chair of its Board of
Directors. Nicholas Cumins, currently COO, will then be promoted to CEO, and be
proposed to join the Board of Directors.
The announcement was made
during the opening event for Bentley Systems’ new UK headquarters in the City
of London, beginning the observance of the company’s 40th anniversary.
Nicholas
Cumins, CEO designate
Cumins has served as
Bentley Systems’ COO since January 2022. He joined Bentley Systems as Chief
Product Officer in September 2020 prior to the company’s IPO. Previously he was
General Manager of SAP Marketing Cloud and served as Chief Product Officer of
Scytl, a platform for online voting, and as Senior Vice President of Product
with OpenX, a pioneer in programmatic advertising. Before OpenX, he had already
served in a variety of senior roles at SAP, including product management,
corporate strategy, and business development. Cumins is a dual French and U.S.
citizen and is based in France. He holds Maîtrise de Droit (Law) and Maîtrise
de Sciences de Gestion (Business) degrees from University Paris II
Panthéon-Assas, Paris.
Nicholas Cumins said, “This
year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of Bentley Systems, at its
essence a company of engineers for engineers. Remarkably, the company has been
founder- and family-led throughout those four decades. Greg has presided over
an extraordinary legacy of long-term growth, sustained innovation, and value creation
inspired by a commitment to advancing the world’s infrastructure for better
quality of life. Greg has had a profound influence on the lives and careers of
Bentley colleagues, and, together with them, on infrastructure engineers
worldwide, taking pride in their work and what Bentley software enables them to
accomplish. His entrepreneurial spirit is deeply embedded in the company’s
culture and values. I am honored to have been selected to follow in his
footsteps, and I represent the Bentley leadership team when I say we are
confident in our readiness and growth mindset for the coming decades.”
Greg
Bentley, Executive Chair designate
CEO since 1995, Greg
Bentley is the oldest of five brothers who founded Bentley Systems. Keith, Ray,
and Barry Bentley retired within the last several years and remain company
Directors.
Greg Bentley said, “I am
very pleased to be able to retire from CEO responsibilities this year (at age
69) with such confidence that this completion of our extended succession
process now leaves Bentley Systems demonstrably able to increase its potential,
while safeguarding its established performance. Under Nicholas Cumins as COO
since January 2022 (and Chief Product Officer previously) both our ARR growth
and operating margins have consistently improved to the highest levels in our
just-now 40-year history. And vitally, over the three-plus years since BSY’s
IPO and the expected retirement wave that enabled, we fully reinvigorated our
executive leadership with a high-functioning cadre that, while 20 years
younger, benefits from valuable public-company experience and is already
reaching its collaborative stride.
“Most significantly, our
Board determined Nicholas to be the ideal CEO for our future by virtue of the
continuity he respects and personifies in our ‘family values’ of dedication to
the success of our colleagues and thence the success of our users and accounts.
Equally, I am personally excited by the resolve and zeal of Nicholas and this
next generation of leaders for technical and commercial innovation within our
sustained mission.
“I am looking forward to contributing as Executive Chair, foreseeably. Beyond supporting Nicholas behind the scenes in the functions naturally new to him, I will remain responsible for overall capital allocation, such as potential platform acquisitions. And by choice I will continue to regularly interact with our investment constituencies, with whom I have found particular affinity. Here’s to Bentley Systems’ next 40 years!”
