CONCORD, Mass., Twenty-year mechanical design and manufacturing software veteran Chris Garcia will steer SolidWorks Corporation's product development operations as vice president of research and development, the company announced today. With hands-on CAD and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) development experience, Garcia will lead a team of 130 engineers that turns customer input into new features and functionality in SolidWorks(r) software. He replaces Dave Corcoran, who will step down from the position he held for nearly four years to spend more time with his family, while still playing an active role in SolidWorks' research, development, and business strategies. Garcia draws on extensive experience in global operations management, software product development and research, strategic sales, marketing, and new business development. He comes to SolidWorks from automation software provider Xygent, Inc., where he was president, CEO, and founder. At Xygent, a division of global manufacturing automation software provider Brown & Sharpe Inc., he coordinated all worldwide software development activities for CAD and Web-based manufacturing applications for the automotive, aerospace, heavy equipment, and supply channel markets. Prior to his tenure at Xygent and Brown & Sharpe, Garcia held management roles at automated manufacturing application provider Tecnomatix Technologies Inc. and was the founder of their Valisys software line of products. He began his career as the original developer of advanced CAD/CAM applications for military defense contractor FMC Research Laboratories. He also developed systems software to automate the reload and licensing of General Electric Company nuclear reactors. Garcia earned a master's degree in business administration at Santa Clara University and a bachelor's degree in computer science and general engineering from San Jose State University. "Chris is a CAD/CAM developer at heart, and he understands what it takes to build dependable software. He rose up through the ranks to gain invaluable, successful product and business development experience with automation software and CAD products for growing corporations," said John McEleney, CEO of SolidWorks. "That experience will play a crucial role as we continue with SolidWorks' mission to refine our products, meet user needs, and define the standard for mainstream 3D CAD software. We will continue to deliver software that is easy to use, affordable, and available to designers and engineers who want to do their jobs better." During his tenure as executive vice president of research and development, Corcoran coordinated development of the last five major SolidWorks software releases, along with 10 new products. His product development strategies, including relying on customer feedback to drive improvements, played a key role in the company's significant growth in the number of users worldwide from 60,000 to 200,000 in nearly four years. He will continue to contribute to SolidWorks' overall research and development program and business strategy development from his office in Concord. Corcoran will report to McEleney in his new role.