James R. Scapa

Founder, Chairman & CEO

James R. Scapa brings more than 35 years of engineering experience to his dual role of Chairman and CEO of Altair Engineering, Inc., a title he has held since the company's inception.

In 1985, Mr. Scapa and two partners founded a small consulting activity in the new field of computer-aided-engineering. Today, the company employs over 2,000 employees with more than 82 offices throughout 25 countries.

Through Mr. Scapa's leadership, the company is now a leading global provider of simulation technology and engineering services that empower client innovation and decision-making.

With over 5,000 clients, Altair serves the automotive, aerospace, government and defense, heavy equipment industry sectors as well as the consumer products, ship building, energy, electronics, life sciences, and architecture engineering and construction markets.

Prior to establishing Altair, Scapa served as an engineering consultant to the automotive industry, beginning his career with Ford Motor Company in 1978.

Scapa holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

Howard Morof

Chief Financial Officer

As chief financial officer, Mr. Morof is responsible for Altair's global corporate financial strategy. A veteran financial executive of 30 years, Mr. Morof has extensive experience with high growth companies as well as expertise in capital markets, mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures.

Mr. Morof joined Altair in 2013 from North American Bancard, one of America's largest independent merchant and credit card processing companies, where he served as chief financial officer for five years. Previously, he held chief financial officer roles at FMF Capital, a wholesale mortgage banking company, and Broder Bros. Co., a leading distributor of imprintable activewear, after serving as a partner at Morof Sheplow Weinstein CPAs.

Morof is a certified public accountant, having earned his master's degree in taxation at Walsh College and his Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan.

Brett Chouinard

President, COO

As chief operating officer for Altair since 2010, Chouinard has responsibility for global sales and technical support, including EMEA, APAC and Americas regional operations, as well as Altair's business partner programs. He joined Altair in 1993 as an engineering consultant, and has held a variety of positions since, including managing the North Central region for the Americas operation, and as Vice President of the Americas region in 2006.

With a strong technical background and business acumen, he has managed significant growth in all of his positions, while building an impressive team of business leaders worldwide. His leadership skills continue to produce strong, profitable growth today, while planning for sustained business success in the years to come.

Prior to joining Altair, he worked as an engineer at GE Aircraft, and studied engineering at Michigan Tech, University of Cincinnati and University of Michigan.

James Dagg

Chief Technical Officer

James Dagg is the chief technical officer for Altair's modeling, visualization and math-based solutions and strategy. With a primary responsibility to create an exceptional user experience across Altair's entire software portfolio, Mr. Dagg's organization is focused on making Altair's simulation, math and optimization technologies available to a broader audience to accelerate sound business and product design decisions.

For more than 25 years, Mr. Dagg has been a visionary behind Altair's software strategy and development activities. Prior to his role as CTO, Mr. Dagg was the Senior Vice President for Altair's newest subsidiary, solidThinking^®. In this role, he was responsible for leading the development of its concept design technologies, Inspire and Evolve.

Mr. Dagg joined Altair in 1987 where he worked as a structural analyst and as a multi-body dynamics analyst in the field of vehicle dynamics. He then transitioned to a software development role in 1990 where he was responsible for both custom and commercial software projects. Beginning in 1995 and for more than a decade, Mr. Dagg oversaw the development of Altair's computer-aided engineering (CAE) software suite, Altair^® HyperWorks®.

Dagg received his BSME in 1988 from the University of Michigan and his MS in Applied Mechanics from U of M in 1993.

Dr. Uwe Schramm

Chief Technical Officer

Dr. Uwe Schramm is the chief technical officer for Altair's solvers, optimization and smart multi-physics solutions and strategy. Beyond developing computational engines for speed and accuracy to solve today's most complex engineering problems, his organization is committed to developing and deeply embedding optimization technology throughout Altair's software portfolio to spur innovation and to drive the design process.

Holding senior management positions at Altair over the past 18 years and globally recognized for his research contributions in structural and multi-disciplinary optimization, Dr. Schramm brings a unique blend of deep technical and business management expertise to his role as CTO.

Dr. Schramm joined Altair in 1996 as an Engineering Manager following a career in academia at the University of Virginia and University of Rostock. In 1999, Dr. Schramm was promoted to Director and relocated from Germany to California to oversee the development of Altair's optimization technologies and to build a western region consulting practice. Having success in both endeavors, he was promoted to Vice President of Product Technology for Altair HyperWorks in 2004 and then to CTO of HyperWorks in 2008. Moving back to Germany in 2011, Dr. Schramm assumed responsibility for Altair's German operations as Managing Director.

Dr. Schramm received his Dipl.-Ing. (Masters degree) and Dr.sc.techn. (Doctorate degree) in Solid Mechanics in 1984 and 1988 as well as his Dr.-Ing. habil. (Doctorate degree) in Mechanical Engineering in 1991 from the University of Rostock.

Sam Mahalingam

Chief Technical Officer

Srikanth (Sam) Mahalingam is the chief technical officer for Altair's cloud computing and high-performance computing strategy, with the primary responsibility of applying the newer cloud and mobile technologies to the digital simulation, high performance computing world and identifying and mentoring talented individuals within the organization.

With more than 20 years of experience in software development, software architecture, technical management and project management, Mahalingam's role focuses on shaping the current products and identifying newer products and solutions to ease the cloud adoption and mobile strategies for Altair customers both in the Simulation Lifecycle Management and High Performance Computing Lifecycle Management arenas.

Mahalingam joined Altair in 1994 and worked on various products and projects both in the custom services and product teams. He then joined a technology start-up as a joint promoter for launching disruptive virtual try-on product into the market that was later acquired by a large software services firm in India. He rejoined Altair in 2005 to spear head newer product initiatives that includes the cloud platform and eventually became the thought leader within Altair for the Enterprise Software Strategy.

Mahalingam holds a bachelor of engineering degree in Computer Science and Engineering and executive masters of business administration from the Indian School of Business.

Amy Messano

Chief Marketing Officer

As chief marketing officer, Ms. Messano is responsible for Altair's global corporate marketing and communications strategy and execution. She has more than two decades of deep experience in all facets of marketing and communications in the fields of technology, advanced mobility, and energy.

Ms. Messano joined Altair in 2019 from Aptiv (formerly Delphi), where she served as vice president of integrated marketing and communications. Previously, she held various senior roles in public relations and marketing at Microsoft and DTE Energy.

Messano earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado.

Andrea Siudara

Chief Information Officer

As chief information officer, Siudara leads Altair’s global information technology team, overseeing the company’s IT systems, enterprise business systems and IT business strategy globally.

With nearly 20 years of experience in leading large-scale, global IT organizations for major companies, Siudara was previously global director, sales and marketing IT for Ford Motor Company. She has an acknowledged track record of aligning IT with business goals to reduce complexity, accelerate growth, facilitate change, and improve operations as evidenced in her previous roles at Delphi, Dell and General Motors.

Siudara holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in business administration from Michigan State University.

Nelson Dias

Chief Revenue Officer

Nelson Dias was named CRO in 2018 after serving as Senior VP—Asia Pacific since 2006. Prior to running Altair’s APAC region, Mr. Dias was Managing Director of Altair India from 2002-2005. He has over 28 years of technical sales and management experience. Mr. Dias holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from the University of Mumbai.

Dave Simon

Chief Administrative Officer

Dave Simon became our chief administrative officer effective as of January 1, 2019. Prior to this role, Mr. Simon served as a senior vice president of Altair in charge of corporate talent and communications from 2018 to 2019, vp - corporate communications from 2016-2018, president of Altair’s wholly-owned subsidiary ilumisys, Inc. (d/b/a toggled) from 2008 to 2016, director of product innovation from 2004-2008, and vp- enterprise process management from 2002-2004. He was with Altair from 1986-1990 prior to rejoining the company in 2000. Mr. Simon holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan, and a masters in management from Walsh College.

Raoul Maitra

Chief Legal Officer

Raoul Maitra was named our chief legal officer in February 2020. Previously, he served as our Co-General Counsel from April 2015 until 2020. He joined our company in 2006 as Deputy General Counsel and served in that capacity until 2015. Mr. Maitra holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor degree from the Mauer School of Law at Indiana University (Bloomington).

Stephanie Buckner

Senior Vice President, Corporate Development

As senior vice president, corporate development, Buckner is responsible for building strategic partnerships across Altair’s entire ecosystem including software, hardware, cloud, Altair Partner Alliance and with customers.

Buckner held several previous roles at Altair where she surpassed aggressive new partner enrollment goals and was responsible for scouting, selling, onboarding and managing relationships with third-party B2B software providers.

Stephanie holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan.

James R. Scapa

James R. Scapa brings more than 35 years of engineering experience to his dual role of Chairman and CEO of Altair Engineering, Inc., a title he has held since the company's inception.

In 1985, Mr. Scapa and two partners founded a small consulting activity in the new field of computer-aided-engineering. Today, the company employs over 2,000 employees with more than 82 offices throughout 25 countries.

Through Mr. Scapa's leadership, the company is now a leading global provider of simulation technology and engineering services that empower client innovation and decision-making.

With over 5,000 clients, Altair serves the automotive, aerospace, government and defense, heavy equipment industry sectors as well as the consumer products, ship building, energy, electronics, life sciences, and architecture engineering and construction markets.

Prior to establishing Altair, Scapa served as an engineering consultant to the automotive industry, beginning his career with Ford Motor Company in 1978.

Scapa holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

Trace Harris

Trace Harris is a finance, strategy and business development executive. She has spent 20 years managing transactions and leading teams in global media companies and in education.

Ms. Harris' professional experience includes 13 years with Vivendi, ultimately as its senior executive in the US for strategy, finance, corporate development, and business innovation. She was previously Senior Vice President of Strategic Development for Universal Studios Television Group, where she was responsible for developing and implementing international television strategies as well as for launching its first international television network. Prior to Universal Studios, Ms. Harris was Director of Finance and Channel Operations for Warner Bros. International Channels. She started her career at JP Morgan in New York. Currently, Ms. Harris is consulting to media and education companies.

Ms. Harris was granted her Bachelor's degree from Stanford University in Economics and her MBA from Yale School of Management with a concentration in Finance.

Brett Chouinard

As chief operating officer for Altair since 2010, Chouinard has responsibility for global sales and technical support, including EMEA, APAC and Americas regional operations, as well as Altair's business partner programs. He joined Altair in 1993 as an engineering consultant, and has held a variety of positions since, including managing the North Central region for the Americas operation, and as Vice President of the Americas region in 2006.

With a strong technical background and business acumen, he has managed significant growth in all of his positions, while building an impressive team of business leaders worldwide. His leadership skills continue to produce strong, profitable growth today, while planning for sustained business success in the years to come.

Prior to joining Altair, he worked as an engineer at GE Aircraft, and studied engineering at Michigan Tech, University of Cincinnati and University of Michigan.

Steve Earhart

Mr Earhart is a CPA/MBA with a career that includes forty-two years of finance & operating experience focused on technology and consumer companies, publicly and privately held. Specialties include business strategy, acquisition optimization and corporate finance.

Retired from Motorola, Inc in 2003 as SVP of Finance with contributions in: the launch of the Cellular industry, the opening of Japan, China and several European markets to cellular technology, venture investment for market development and capital formation for overall Corporate stability.

Post Motorola, Mr Earhart joined SSA Global Technologies (a leading provider of ERP software) as EVP & CFO. During his tenure revenue grew three-fold largely through acquisition achievement. In 2005, he led SSA's initial public offering and in 2006 he led SSA's sale to Infor Global Technologies where he became CFO of Infor Global post closing. In 2009 Mr Earhart joined Torex Ltd (a UK based retail software provider) as EVP & CFO with a focus on the Company's operational turnaround. In 2012, Mr Earhart joined World Kitchen LLC (a leader in branded consumer products) as CFO and he held this position until 2017.

Jan Kowal

Jan Kowal became president of Brose North America, Inc. in 1998; managing the North American arm of Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. after 12 years of strategic positions within the company.

Jan Kowal, an expert in market development, has spearheaded Brose North America's growth to 20 percent market share and 1.3 billion USD and establishing six manufacturing locations with 4,000 employees.

Transferring his position to the new President John Dunn in August 2012, Jan Kowal remained with the company as the Chairman for Brose North America, Inc. until May 2015. For the last two years Jan Kowal has consulted the Brose group in Europe and US.

Between 2006 and 2013, Jan Kowal has been member of the board for OESA; the last four years as a member of the executive committee, including the chairmanship for 2012.

Jan Kowal joined Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. in 1986 with over nine years experience in different areas of the automotive industry in Sweden. Since joining Brose, he has managed the development of markets in Sweden, United Kingdom, Japan, France and Germany.

Jan Kowal has a master's of science degree in mechanical engineering from University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden.

Richard Hart

Richard Hart is a seasoned financial executive with deep operational and banking experience.

Mr. Hart is currently Chief Financial Officer for Guidewire, a NASDAQ-listed technology company providing software to Property and Casualty insurers, with overall global responsibility for Finance Operations. From March 2004 to November 2013, Richard served as Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, an investment bank. From 1999 to 2004, Richard served as an investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston, an investment bank, most recently as Managing Director.

Mr. Hart holds a J.D. degree from New York University School of Law and a B.A. in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mary C. Boyce

Mary C. Boyce is a noted educator, researcher, and leader. She is Dean of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University in the City of New York, where she is also the Morris A. and Alma Schapiro Professor of Engineering. Prior to joining Columbia, Dean Boyce served on the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for over 25 years, leading the Mechanical Engineering Department from 2008 to 2013. She holds a BS degree in engineering science and mechanics from Virginia Tech, and MS and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT.

Dean Boyce’s research focuses on materials and mechanics, particularly in the areas of multi-scale and nonlinear mechanics of polymers and soft composites, and her work has been documented in over 170 archival journal articles spanning materials, mechanics, and physics. She has mentored over 40 M.S. thesis students and over 25 PhD students and has been widely recognized for her scholarly contributions, including election as a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering. Boyce leads the education and research mission of Columbia Engineering with more than 200 faculty, 1500 undergraduate students, 2500 graduate students, and 100 postdoctoral fellows.