President and CEO invited to share Company’s vision at prestigious annual meeting
January 31, 2000 – Davos, Switzerland/Budapest – Graphisoft®, developer of Archicad and
the revolutionary Virtual Building™ concept of 3D architectural design, was given the
Technology Pioneer Award at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in
Davos, Switzerland.
Held January 27 through February 1, the summit annually unites top political, social and
business leaders to discuss common challenges faced by societies throughout the world
today, share solutions, and to set the priorities for the future.
The 2000 meeting also marked the inaugural Technology Pioneers program, which invited 50
of the world’s most technologically innovative companies to reveal their success strategies
and visions, as well as examine the pivotal role technology is playing in the new global
economy. Graphisoft and the other Technology Pioneers – which included companies from
information technology, biotechnology, and other major science-related fields – were selected
by the WEF and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu on the basis of “innovative power” and their
expected impact on the future.
The only such company invited to this event, Graphisoft is an information technology
provider focusing exclusively on the building industry. A pioneer of object-oriented 3D CAD
solutions, Graphisoft successfully released the most advanced version of its flagship
product, Graphisoft Archicad 6.5, in 1999. Additionally, the company developed and
released several new technologies to better serve the building industry and expand on its
revolutionary Virtual Building concept of building design and maintenance: ArchiFM 2000,
the first computer-aided facility management solution to integrate 3D building design with
building management; SalesCAD, an on-site demonstration and sales tool for building
components modeled in Graphisoft’s Geometric Description Language (GDL); and a series of
tools that allow anyone to view, edit and download highly parametric GDL objects from the
Internet.
“With our 16 years innovation in object technology, Graphisoft is poised to be a major
technology provider for the coming IT revolution in the building and construction industry,”
Graphisoft President and CEO Gábor Bojár said. “Our development activities are focused on
extending the value of the Virtual Building data, and embracing the Internet by facilitating
object-based building design and component manufacturing with commerce on the Web.”
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (http://www.deloitte.com) is one of the world’s leading
professional services firms, delivering world-class assurance and advisory, tax, and
consulting services. Its integrated teams of internationally experienced professionals are well
versed in addressing today’s challenges linked to globalization and e-commerce. Its mission is
to help its clients and its people excel. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is a Knowledge Partner of
the World Economic Forum.
The World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org) is an independent organization committed to
improving the state of the world. It serves its members and society by creating the foremost
global partnership of business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society to define and
discuss key issues on the global agenda. Incorporated since 1971 as a foundation, the World
Economic Forum is independent, impartial and not-for-profit, tied to no political, partisan or
national interests.
About Graphisoft
Graphisoft is a leading provider of computer-aided design (CAD) software solutions for the
architectural profession and the building industry. Founded in 1982, Graphisoft is ranked
today among the largest AEC CAD software developers in the world, with 12 offices all over
the world in addition to its headquarters. Graphisoft’s flagship product, Archicad, is used by
more than 75,000 architects worldwide and distributed in 25 languages and 80 countries.
Shares of Graphisoft are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Neuer Markt under the
symbol GPH. More information about Graphisoft is available at www.graphisoft.com.