Very sad news: Chuck Grindstaff has died
I’m sorry to tell you that Chuck Grindstaff, former CEO of Siemens PLM and long-time PLMer, has died. To the left is Siemens’ stock photo of Chuck but it’s so formal and posed — and Chuck never was. He was usually pacing and gesturing, passionately expounding on something — technology, society, education, his family … Chuck was blindingly smart, kind, no fool when it came to trends that might or might not stick and, even though it’s overused, a real visionary in determining what tech would be useful and how it might be applied to normal, real-world scenarios.
Chuck formally retired from Siemens PLM in 2016 but I think still held advisory positions within the bigger Digital Industries organization.
I’m sure they will miss him, as will I. My condolences to his family and his colleagues.
As far as I know, nothing has been set up to take donations in his honor. If I find out about something, I’ll update. But if you’re so inclined, go help a kid be a techie. I think he’d like that.
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Chuck was a great person and in my business relationship loved him for his technology depth and humble attitude of reaching out and opening up to many partners and truly discussing possibilities. We will miss him and my deep condolences to his family.
He built the superior product strategy we have today at Siemens. The Digital Twin is one of the top growth areas and in my opinion, he is the inventor of it. All other competitors are trying to follow Chuck’s plan. He was not only a genius but a great leader.
I sorry to hear about Chuck. He was great person with passion of digital technology. My deep condolences to his family.
Chuck developed and manufactured digital signal processing systems for high-end motion picture applications; earning him an Oscar from the Motion Picture Academy of the Arts and Sciences for this groundbreaking work and its long-term impact on the industry.
Chuck was widely respected throughout the industry for his extraordinary intelligence, knowledge, vision and drive. He will be missed around the world and his accomplishments will be long remembered.
Chuck was indeed a very bright person, known him over 35 years and always knew he would go straight to the top. He was kind, and down to earth as well. RIP my dear friend, and my condolence to his family.
I had the great fortune of getting hired into Chuck’s team at Unigraphics straight out of college. He was not only a great mentor, he was also a great friend to a kid from Oregon new to the LA area. He could see the beauty of the work done at United Computing and with the help of his genius the Unigraphics CAM module became the industry leader. My condolences go out to his family and I know he will long be remembered in lives he touched and changed for the better.
Chuck came to see us in 2016 and spent 4 hours with us, during which he did not take a call or an email. We had this giants undivided attention for 4 hours and I’ll never forget it, because those 4 hours completely transformed our business. Chuck’s family and friends have my condolences.
Incredibly sad to hear. He was much more than who he was as an industry leader. He was truly a gentle person and extremely easy to talk to. My condolences to his family and those impacted my his loss.
I had the honor to meet him on several occasions. He was an open-minded and strategic thinker, gentle person, just great to talk to. Never going by hierarchy, always by knowledge and attitude. My deeply felt condolences to Chuck’s family and friends. Join me in moving forward his passions: Friends, PLM and wine.
Very sad to hear this. Chuck was a great colleague during my time at Siemens. I always appreciated his open and refreshing mind and his positive attitude.
Was a great guy in the arena of SW simulation !!
This is unbelievable. Chuck had left indelible mark in my life. It’s hard to digest the truth. I will say RIP Chuck. The world will surely miss you and your ingenuity.
I am deeply saddened by this news. He was truly one of the most genuine individuals I had the pleasure to know and work with. This is a great loss for all that knew him.
Very sad news. Under him Siemens PLM made great strides. He was a true visionary. RIP Chuck. Siemens and entire community will miss you.