Andrew Anagnost

California is awash in contradictions. Its cultural, economic, and geographic diversity makes it a compelling place to live, but it also has huge gaps in education, opportunity, and wealth. And despite being in the technology capital of the world, many of California’s residents don’t have access to the information, mentorship, and education needed to thrive in today’s economy, one where the most lucrative jobs –enabling social mobility – will increasingly be in the tech sector.

We know that not every child in California grows up in a household with tech-savvy siblings and college-educated parents with the time, money, and inclination to hover over their education. If your family doesn’t know what’s changing in the world, you have little chance of preparing for it. We are in danger of having many of our most capable and motivated Californians slip through the cracks of opportunity, further exacerbating economic and social divides. It doesn’t have to be this way. I know, I was one of those who slipped through the cracks.

I came of age in the San Fernando Valley of the late 70’s and early 80’s. My father, the child of Greek immigrants, and my mother, the daughter of a Quaker and a Spanish construction worker. My father was a social worker and later an administrator for the California Department of Rehabilitation, and my mother attended night school to become a nurse practitioner. I was a latchkey kid raised by well-intentioned parents who were often simply trying to survive.

I read adult fiction and college-level biographies in elementary school, was obsessed with space exploration, and learned in a way poorly suited for traditional classrooms. My parents didn’t know what to do with me, my teachers tried their best, and my friends increasingly came from the margins of society. None had the information or capacity to guide me. By the time I was in high school, I was deep into drug abuse, bad behavior, and self-destruction. I was accelerating my own fall through the cracks, leading to arrests, a brief stay in juvenile hall, probation, and a crushingly low sense of self-worth.

But that’s not the end of my story. It didn’t end there because California has a well-functioning safety net of educational institutions – our community college and California State University systems catch the talent that would otherwise not reach its potential. After shaking off my bout of self-destruction, I was caught by the California State University at Northridge, where I studied engineering and was mentored by incredibly caring and passionate educators. After two years there, I had the grades to transfer to a UC, but stayed at CSUN because I had found a community invested in both my sense of self and education. After graduating, I worked as an engineer for Lockheed in Burbank, and went on to get a master’s and PhD from Stanford. Today, I run one of the most important software companies in the world. But it was in the California State University system that I learned first-hand that not all those with potential can follow a straight line to achieve it, and no one rises alone.

Now I’m part of a company that believes everyone should have access to the tools and education required to succeed in a world increasingly driven by technology. At Autodesk we make software for people who make things – from buildings and roads, to cars and robots, to games and movies. All our software is free to students. Of course, we have a commercial interest: we have customers, employees, and shareholders to satisfy. But we also believe in the positive potential of what we do. And for me, it’s personal.

When I returned to my alma mater five years ago, I saw a powerful gateway institution, one that had grown to become one of the largest Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the country. CSUN now reaches a whole new demographic of immigrant and first-generation students. Many of them, as my father and mother were, will be the first in their families to get a college degree. But CSUN needed more investment in technology and engineering to help these students succeed. Thanks to the efforts of the University’s President Erika Beck, elected officials, and the generosity of several companies, I return to the place that quite literally saved me, to see the groundbreaking of the Autodesk Technology Engagement Center. I’m proud of the students who will be California’s next generation of innovators. And I look forward to helping keep more of them from falling through the cracks.

Andrew Anagnost

President and Chief Executive Officer at Autodesk

San Francisco Bay Area

21K followers 500+ connections

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Andrew Anagnost

President and Chief Executive Officer at Autodesk

San Francisco Bay Area 21K followers 500+ connections

Skills

View Andrew’s full profile

Other similar profiles

Dana Jones

Leif E. Pedersen

Feyzi Fatehi

JOHN BRUGGEMAN

Gary Ambrosino

Noah Breslow

Nate Bowler

Joel Dehlin

Hardeep Gulati

Joe Sander

Greg Munves

Jim Dicso

Gil Allouche

Carlos Delatorre

Andrew Joiner

Deep Chakraborty

Simon Angove

Luis Cuneo

Tristan Louis

Kevin O.

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Explore collaborative articles

Others named Andrew Anagnost

Andrew Anagnost

Add new skills with these courses

Nonprofit Management Foundations

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Ethics in the Age of Generative AI

San Francisco Bay Area

21K followers 500+ connections