Newforma Executives Bob Batcheler, Dave Plunkett and Ian Howell Win 2014 High Tech Council Entrepreneur of the Year Award
May 5, 2014—Manchester, NH—The 2014 field for the NH High Technology Council’s Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) was deep, but after naming three finalists, the judges chose three leaders of Newforma as the winners. Bob Batcheler, Dave Plunkett and Ian Howell were named the 2014 winners at the annual EOY event on May 5. The leaders at the other two finalist companies, Scribe Software and Single Digits, were also recognized at the event.
“New Hampshire has provided a rich environment for establishing Newforma as a global software company. Our original investor, Borealis Ventures, is located here, and organizations such as the New Hampshire High Tech Council are contributing to a healthy technology ecosystem for companies like ours to continue to grow,” said Ian Howell, CEO of Newforma. “I speak for Newforma co-founders Dave Plunkett and Bob Batcheler when I say we’re honored to be recognized as entrepreneurs creating job opportunities here in NH. We hope our company’s success is just the beginning of what’s to come.”
Bob “Batch” Batcheler started Newforma with the founding team and is the executive vice president of strategy, working closely with prospects and customers to ensure that new products and features meet their business needs. Prior to that, he worked in a variety of roles in sales, product management and special projects at Autodesk and Softdesk.
Dave Plunkett is a co-founder and executive vice president of development, responsible for engineering, QA and product design. He is the founder of Cadzooks, which was acquired by Autodesk in 1996, bringing him to New Hampshire as part of their architectural team. He also produces over 100 gallons of maple syrup each year with neighboring families in Henniker.
Ian Howell has served as CEO of Newforma since its inception. His leadership has helped establish the company as the industry’s leading provider of project information management software. He is an architect by training and has practiced professionally as a partner of the Buchon Group. He has also worked in various high tech company management roles, including Alias research, BlueLine Online and Autodesk’s AEC Market Group.
“There are so many people who have contributed to our success. We would not have been able to be here tonight without them and can’t thank them enough,” Batcheler said.
Newforma software connects architecture, engineering, construction and owner organizations to each other, to their project information, to their processes, to their financial and resource data and to remote team members for the purpose of successful project delivery. Company sales have grown by more than 30% year over year for the past three years and Newforma now employs 185 people, most of which are based in their Manchester office.
“It was a great night to celebrate entrepreneurship, recognize several leaders for their commitment to and success in enhancing our tech ecosystem, and hear from Governor Hassan and our keynote speaker David Friend, co-founder of Carbonite. I want to congratulate the leaders at Newforma for their work and welcome them to an amazing group of entrepreneurs who have won this prestigious award over the past 26 years,” said Paul Mailhot, chair of the Council Board of Directors
Eligibility for the EOY award is limited to any founder, owner, or senior level manager of a business in New Hampshire who has successfully organized, developed, or managed a high tech concept into a commercial product or service. Since its start in 1988, the Council has recognized more than 60 New Hampshire entrepreneurs at EOY for demonstrating leadership, ingenuity and innovation within the technology sector.
Major sponsors of the 2014 event included FairPoint Communications; Dyn; Nanocomp Technologies; Cook Little Rosenblatt & Manson; Baker Newman Noyes; Dunn Rush & Co; the University of New Hampshire at Manchester; and John J. Flatley Co.
The NH High Tech Council engages, connects, and supports member companies throughout New Hampshire. As the largest member-driven technology association in the state, the Council supports research, innovation, and economic and workforce development efforts that have helped New Hampshire become a national leader in entrepreneurship and business.