PTC executive: Israeli R&D will continue to drive company innovation

Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the Nasdaq-listed company boasts over $1 billion in revenue and employees over 6,000 workers in 30 countries.

By EYTAN HALON
Kathleen Mitford, PTC executive vice-president of products (photo credit: PR)
Kathleen Mitford, PTC executive vice-president of products
(photo credit: PR)
Global computer software and services company PTC will continue to embrace innovative technologies developed at its three Israel research centers, a company executive said during a visit to the country last week.
“PTC Israel is an important office for PTC, and we will continue to drive innovative technologies from Israel,” Kathleen Mitford, executive vice-president of products at PTC, told The Jerusalem Post.
Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the Nasdaq-listed company boasts over $1 billion in revenue and employs more than 6,000 workers in 30 countries.
PTC has been active in Israel since November 1991 and today operates three R&D centers in Haifa, Herzliya and Airport City.
“The purpose of this visit is to share the company strategy with the employees and most importantly to hear from the teams,” said Mitford.
“I find the further away from our headquarters in the Boston Seaport, the less visibility and understanding of the company’s strategy. This is important so employees understand the context of the work they are doing. When you understand the why of your work, I find it makes the work more meaningful.”
The company’s Israeli teams take an active role, Mitford said, in developing the company’s strategic solutions and platforms, including PTC’s computer-aided design solutions Creo CAD software and Mathcad; industrial augmented reality platform Vuforia; and industrial Internet of Things (IoT) platform ThingWorx.
“We have had tech centers in Israel for more than 27 years because of the access to great talent and the innovative culture. We have expanded the focus of the team beyond computer-aided design (CAD) to also work on IoT, given the strength of the talent pool in Israel,” she said.
Not only is Mitford responsible for portfolio management, product strategy and R&D at PTC, she is also a keen advocate for promoting greater inclusion of women in science and technology.
“I believe a diverse culture drives better outcomes. We have seen good progress in STEM programs so we have more women entering technology-related positions,” said Mitford.
“The challenge I see is once women enter the workforce we need to focus on retaining and promoting them. In order to do this, we need to make sure that our environment is an inclusive environment where all feel comfortable working. If our environment is not inclusive, women and other minorities will not stay.”


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