Categories Announcements Autodesk

Last Day at Autodesk After 25 years

  • By Shaan
  • Estimated read time 4 min read
  • March 31, 2023

YAG – “Yet Another Goodbye”, a longtime Autodesk tradition going back to the founding.

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Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Today is my last day 25 years after my first day joining Autodesk. As some of you may already know, I am leaving Autodesk as a result of the recent COO/DXC reorganization, and my role being eliminated in the process. While it is not easy to say goodbye after 25 incredible years, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the opportunity to represent fellow deskers, Autodesk products, advocate for our customers, and forge genuine connections between product teams and our customers to embody what it means to be a customer company.

Throughout my journey at Autodesk, there have been numerous unforgettable highlights, but here are a few:

  • Joining Autodesk as a customer, which gave me unique insights into Autodesk customers’ needs.
  • Being a member of the AutoCAD Team, starting at R14. I loved the release parties and water fights back then. The beer busts when I was located in the San Rafael California offices were amazing and never truly about the beer or pizza, they were about connecting disparate teams that may not talk in the course of their week. Many amazing products emerged by bumping into a fellow desker at a beer bust while waiting for commute traffic to die down.
  • Building the Feedback Community and managing global betas for numerous Autodesk products for 17 years. It was amazing to connect teams and customers with the same goal of making better products.
  • Founding the Autodesk blogs and social outreach that gave Autodesk a more personal touch and helped forge stronger relationships with customers.
  • Establishing Autodesk Labs, which served as the birthplace for groundbreaking technologies like Fusion 360.
  • Participating in over 30 Autodesk Universities across the globe. Starting the AU5k fun run, promoting connection and camaraderie among colleagues and customers and all my annual blogger and social meetups on rollercoasters or in fun robot dancing reception spaces.
  • Working in the CTO Office/Autodesk Research and contributing a chapter to “Imagine Design Create: How Designers, Architects, and Engineers Are Changing Our World”.
  • Had the pleasure of getting to know and work with 3 CEOs, Carol, Carl, and Andrew.
  • Helping build out the Autodesk Portland office as an embodiment of Portland character and fun that employees and customers would enjoy and be proud of.
  • Taking on the unofficial role of Autodesk Historian, curating a personal collection and preserving the company’s rich history including the first floppy and manuals.
  • Special reality capture and 3D printing projects such as capturing the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor in 3D above and below water, human ancestor fossils in Turkana Kenya, auto parts digitalization, modification, and 3D printing with Jay Leno at Big Dog Garage, capturing Utah’s Delicate Arch in Arches National Park with LiDAR, underwater 3D mapping of coral reefs in Kalaupapa Molokai, Hawaii and Mexico, and aerial and terrestrial capture in 3D and then perform structural analysis of sustainable bamboo structures in Bali.
    getting to meet so many customers and partners worldwide over the years. It was a true pleasure to listen and see what you do and try to make design products better for you.
  • And so much more…

As I move on to new adventures, I am filled with gratitude for the relationships and memories we have shared. I am confident that the skills, experiences, and knowledge I have gained at Autodesk will serve me well in the future. I look forward to staying connected and watching Autodesk prosper.

I will now, after a recent break, begin the active search and make a decision on what my next adventures hold, and will keep everyone up to date on Between the Lines blog. If you have a role or a need for a creative, highly networked, experienced, self-starter, high-energy, hardworking, innovative person, please reach out to me.

Onward and upward, until we meet again. Thank you for the privilege of working alongside such a talented and dedicated group of individuals and the most amazing customers designing and making everything around the globe.

Warmest regards,

-Shaan Hurley

Keep in Touch!

About The Author

Shaan

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