Red Cedar Technology Names new President, CEO

EAST LANSING -- Red Cedar Technology announced Monday that the company's board chairman, technology industry veteran Robert R. Ryan, has accepted the position of president and CEO.

Ryan has more than 25 years of experience in the high-tech software industry. He previously served as President of Mechanical Dynamics Inc. In 2002, he oversaw the sale of MDI to MSC Software and served as executive vice president of the newly combined firm. Most recently, he served as chairman of the board for Red Cedar Technology and About Golf Ltd.

Ryan holds a bachelor's degree in engineering and business from the University of Cincinnati, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in engineering from Stanford University.

He spent two years on the mechanical engineering faculty at the University of Michigan, where he received the Exxon Outstanding Educator Award and conducted research sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Throughout his career, Ryan has focused on the effective application of computer simulation to product design, finance, medicine, sports, and entertainment. He most recently served on the advisory council for the NIH's Center for Biomedical Computation and is a member of Plymouth Venture Partners, a top-tier venture capital group.

Ron Averill, former president and CEO of Red Cedar Technology, will transition into the roles of chairman of the board and Chief Technology Officer.

"Bob (Ryan) has a history of successful leadership in high-tech software companies, and he has already made significant contributions to Red Cedar Technology," Averill said. "We are very fortunate to have someone with Bob's experience and ability at the helm of the company."

Red Cedar Technology is a spinout of Michigan State University professors' work in design optimization software. Product development teams worldwide use its expertise to design safer cars, engineer life-saving biomedical instruments and devices, and develop innovative structures for air travel and space exploration, among many other groundbreaking applications.

More at www.redcedartech.com.