P rofessor Georg Nemetschek is a self-made German billionaire and a pioneer in the field of software for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries. An engineer by training, he founded his own engineering firm in 1963. He was an early adopter of computers and began developing his own software programs to automate structural engineering calculations.

This early software business grew into the Nemetschek Group, a global leader in AEC software. He has built the company through both strong organic growth and a series of acquisitions of other major software brands, including Graphisoft (the maker of ArchiCAD) and Vectorworks. He took the company public but has retained a majority stake for his family. He has since stepped back from an active management role but remains the controlling shareholder and the visionary founder of one of the world's most important software companies for the construction industry.