ANSYS, a global innovator of simulation software and technologies designed to optimize product development processes, today announced that its Chief Financial Officer, Maria Shields, has won the 2005 CFO of the Year Award in the public company category, a recognition program sponsored by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The CFO of the Year Award highlights the role chief financial officers play in the business community, stepping far beyond "bean-counting" tasks to forge strategic relationships with other company executives and serve as trusted sources for information, advice and long-term strategic direction. As CFO at ANSYS for the past seven years, Shields has helped lead the company to financial prosperity. "ANSYS is an amazing company with a long record of technical innovation and a compelling vision that inspires customer loyalty. I am proud to be one of the many people on the ANSYS team to have an opportunity to contribute to that success," said Shields about her role as ANSYS CFO. "Our 35-year history has demonstrated that when our team has a shared vision, we are able to deliver on our commitments and provide value to all our key constituencies - employees, stockholders, customers, partners and local communities." Shields, who has been with ANSYS 11 years, the last seven as CFO, accepted the tribute - alongside five peers representing community service, nonprofit and various private company categories - at an awards ceremony on November 2, 2005. This is the inaugural year for the Pittsburgh Business Times CFO of the Year Award, a program open to businesses in Pittsburgh as well as throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. ANSYS business success has been driven by a long-standing history of technical innovation in providing leading-edge simulation solutions. This has led to compounded revenue growth around 20%, earnings growth around 25% and superior and consistent shareholder return approaching a compounded 40% growth rate. In addition, ANSYS has often landed on many national "strong performers" lists, including Forbes, Business Week, Business 2.0 and FORTUNE Small Business. Most recently, ANSYS was named to the "Tech 50 List" by the Pittsburgh Technology Council for demonstrating strong growth, financial strength, job growth and retention and innovative products.