Leaving a legacy on infrastructure design: Celebrating Warren Malveau’s legendary career

As Bentley celebrates its 40th anniversary, a long-time user and partner closes his 46-year career.

Malveau has seen the AEC and CAD sector evolve drastically throughout his career—from hand-drawn blueprints to 3D design software to the emerging development of AI capabilities, and much more.

Reflecting on when he was first introduced to MicroStation and Bentley software, he said, “When the Bentley product came along, it was a night and day difference. The software itself was true 3D that was standalone. It wasn’t tied to anything. And it was fast. And now that I was in this new environment, I was able to research that and make it even more efficient—to the point where users even today think that all of it is automatic. You know, I bring something up and it just knows my plot area. It knows the scale. What it doesn’t know is there’s a little bit of magic that I’m making in the background.”

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Malveau’s journey started with creating CAD strategy and utilizing his experience to improve day-to-day workflows in the applications. Yet, over time, Malveau’s work began transforming how other CAD users work, leaving a trail of improvements in his path.

“What has kept me here all this time is the work—having the ability to create CAD strategy. That, paired with just simply listening, hearing what the people are doing, what their problems are, and executing to the satisfaction of our users is something that I think about every day. What do I need to do to make users more successful?”

A user-driven partnership that shaped Bentley solutions

Malveau’s commitment to improving CAD design and the AEC industry fostered an exceptionally strong relationship between LACSD and Bentley. As Dan Mendoza, enterprise success manager at Bentley, explains, “We listen to our users, and Warren has been an amazing example because who better than a user to tell us how to improve our products.”

Don Lee, senior solution architect at Bentley, further emphasizes this point, saying, “A lot of what he has done throughout his entire career has been woven into our solutions. We couldn’t do it without users like Warren.”

Malveau himself deeply values this collaborative spirit, stating, “Over the years of working with Bentley, we have had an exceptionally good relationship. Our Bentley representatives focus on us, and I very much appreciate them for that.”

Sam Espinoza, engineering department head at LACSD, acknowledges the invaluable legacy Malveau is leaving, commenting, “There is no way to translate that over to somebody else. But certainly, there are things that we’ve done in our careers—and Warren, in particular, has done in his career—that will serve as a great foundation for the future.”

A Career that transformed CAD

Malveau is celebrated by his colleagues and partners alike for his reliability and many years of experience and knowledge. Lee notes that Malveau is “one of those rare individuals who has started before a lot of this technology even existed. And Warren has navigated all of those trying times.”

Mendoza highlights that Malveau’s more than 40 years in our sector parallels Bentley’s own 40-year history, meaning he has literally “seen the evolution of our products.”

After 46 years, Malveau embarks on a new chapter with gratitude for his remarkable contributions across the sector. While he has dedicated decades to supporting engineers and refining CAD strategies, his plans for the future include spending more time with his guitar.

Malveau’s career is a testament to the power of experience, the value of listening, and the invaluable mark one individual can leave on an entire industry. His magic in the background has undoubtedly made countless users more successful.