Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) recently toasted Bentley Systems’ upcoming 40th anniversary during on-the-record remarks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The congresswoman serving Pennsylvania District 6, home to Bentley’s headquarters in Exton, applauded the company’s four-decade track record of helping to solve the world’s infrastructure challenges.
“Bentley Systems has grown to become the industry leader with its digital twin and advanced infrastructure technologies,” Rep. Houlahan said on July 25. “Their tools are utilized by every State Department of Transportation across our nation and by 194 countries worldwide, not only helping move forward our outdated infrastructure but also moving us into the 21st century.”
Rep. Houlahan also congratulated former CEO Greg Bentley — the eldest of the five brothers who founded Bentley Systems in 1984 — on his well-deserved retirement. She credited his entrepreneurial leadership and vision with transforming the company into a “cornerstone of innovation right in our own backyard.”
Nicholas Cumins, who previously served as the company’s chief operating officer, officially took over as CEO on July 1. Greg Bentley will continue serving as executive chair of the Board of Directors. He had served as CEO since 1995 and is the last Bentley brother to retire.
“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,” Cumins said in a press release annoucing the leadership shift. “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,” Cumins added. “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.”
Cumins is the first CEO who is not a Bentley family member, marking a milestone in the family- and founder-driven company’s development. The Bentley brothers redefined computer-aided design (CAD) software with MicroStation, a groundbreaking engineering application platform. Four decades of innovation and more than 120 acquisitions later, Bentley Systems is the leading provider of infrastructure engineering software, with its infrastructure digital twin solutions used to design, build and operate critical infrastructure around the world.
The leadership transition comes at a critical time when engineering firms and asset owner-operators are looking to software to help overcome talent shortages.
“Infrastructure is at a watershed moment,” Cumins said. “Despite the massive capital investment in infrastructure projects and jobs post pandemic, so much more remains to be done to make infrastructure more resilient. Our ability to bridge that gap will literally determine the quality of life for generations to come. Fortunately, a paradigm shift in software is reshaping the landscape. AI-powered digital twin solutions are unlocking the value of data across the infrastructure lifecycle.”
Read more about Bentley’s vision for infrastructure resilience.
