The Passing of Alan Christman, CIMdata’s Chairman Emeritus and Well-Known CAM Authority

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, USA 11 January 2022—CIMdata, Inc., the leading global PLM strategic management consulting and research firm, announces that its Chairman Emeritus, Alan Christman, died January 9, 2022, in Boca Raton, Florida, following a short illness. Mr. Christman served as CIMdata’s chairman from 2009 through June 2017.

Peter Bilello, President & CEO of CIMdata, today issued the following statement: “CIMdata is sad that Alan Christman, a pioneer in CAM and NC programming technologies since the late 1960s and interactive CAD/CAM technology since the late 1970s, has died. Alan was a colleague and friend whose industry insights, innovative thinking, and wisdom will be missed.”

While at CIMdata, Mr. Christman, a global authority on CAM and NC software systems, was the primary author of the CIMdata CAM Software Market Assessment Reports and Compendium of NC Software Product Reviews for many years. After joining CIMdata in 1990, he conducted extensive research in manufacturing engineering, digital manufacturing, and topics related to CAM software usage. Mr. Christman also consulted with end-users of CAM software, major CAD/CAM companies, digital manufacturing suppliers, venture capitalists, and CAM-centric solution providers on strategic marketing and technical subjects.

Before joining CIMdata, Mr. Christman held various positions with Union Carbide Corporation and Control Data Corporation. At Union Carbide, he was an engineering supervisor, Manager of Manufacturing Process Analysis, and Director of Information Systems. At Control Data, his positions included General Manager Product Planning, General Manager of Manufacturing Industry Marketing, and General Manager of CAD/CAM Marketing.

Mr. Christman was on the board of NCGA and chaired the NCGA National Conference. He served on the editorial advisory board of Tooling and Production magazine and wrote the “CAD/CAM Outlook” column for Modern Machine Shop.

Mr. Christman received BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering from The University of Michigan and was an avid supporter of the athletics program at the university. Additionally, he was a Ph.D. candidate in Mathematics at the University of Tennessee.

We are happy to forward any messages you wish to send to Mr. Christman’s family. Please email them to info@CIMdata.com.