"...We asked why they came to the event and the answer, to paraphrase, was this "We come because its the only place that we can get face time with the people we need to see, that would be very hard to access by email or phone and trying to work your way through the layers of management." Fancy that."

Al Dean
Editor-in-Chief
Develop3D

"RT Me too Lou! @gol10dr: I think that #cofes2009 was the most productive event I have ever been part of in my engineering carreer"

Jim Brown
Tech-Clarity retweeting Lou Gallo
SolidWorks Heard

 

"But for me, COFES is about its core tenet. It's those impromptu conversations, the chance meetings, the introductions over a drink or canape, that make it worthwhile. As I put it to someone recently who asked about what COFES was like, 'It's like LinkedIn Live.'"

Al Dean
Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief
DEVELOP3D

"...a joyous exercise of the intellect to reach out into something that is connectable but totally unrelated to what I do and know in detail, a perspective that too few are aware of.  The brain power coefficient at COFES is really out of this world.... and was really fun to be involved with."

Scott Brinks
Senior Vice-President, Logisitics
Agility

"2006 was my first COFES and was enlightening. At every meeting, function, indeed, in every corridor, nook or cranny, one could find a high level of knowledge and interest in the future of our industry. Open discussion, views, opinions, comments and heated debate from a gathering of some of great minds in engineering software technology made it a must in my 2007 calender."

Al Dean
Editor
MCAD Magazine
London, UK

 "At COFES, the sessions are interesting but I find the networking time with industry colleagues to be particularly valuable."

John McEleney
President
SolidWorks

 

"The conference—or Congress, as the group prefers—is a well-run affair that concentrates on the bigger issues of design and engineering. At its worst there are impassioned discussions about the problems of implementing PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) systems and the value of working in 3D that are as never-ending as they are recurring year after year after year—if only the aging process could be stopped as easily. At its best the conference puts a disparate bunch of experts in the same room or at the same party and gives them an opportunity to share notes on real problems. Some complain that there aren’t enough users, and others complain that the users there come predominantlyfrom large sites, but the fact of the matter is that few venues really put these kinds of high-level experts into the same kind of casual environment and so successfully inspire conversation. "

Jon Peddie
President
The Peddie Report

"Once again, the rewards of COFES sneak up on you and sometime during the first day you realize that something strange is happening.  It then dawns on you that you are in a comfortable setting, with 200 industry professionals and you’re thinking.  You’re thinking about what the analysts are saying and you’re having open dialogue with others regarding your feelings and opinions on engineering.  You are at a retreat that is about technology renewal, not the traditional finding your inner self, but finding your thoughts and care-abouts in the industry."

Les Steward
Manager Engineering Computing
Raytheon

“There’s nowhere I can ever really go.  I go in this sort of desperate search for mental food through the book stores, five or six times a day. I’m bingeing, I’m wanting more, and my mind’s coming up with half of that. Then you come to something like COFES and you sit there and you start talking to everybody.  Everyone says something that sparks it here, sparks it there, sparks it here, and it’s like my mind goes into this feeding frenzy.  And the thing is, I see other people doing the same thing.  When you get enough people who actually consider thinking an entertaining activity, you see things that you just can’t feed yourself any other way.  That’s what I mean when I say it’s food for the mind.”

Mike Riddle
CEO
Evolution Computing

"The COFES conference was perfect for our purposes. No other conference that I am aware of provides the attendees with the opportunity for hosted personal introductions to key industry players and the chance to speak directly to those individuals about issues that affect the 3D CAD industry as a whole. We accomplished in two/three days what could have taken weeks, perhaps several months. The return for us was invaluable given our objectives."

Rick Benoit
Strategic Marketing Manager
Intel Corp

“COFES was a great opportunity to have quality discussion time with some of the most interesting people in our industry; I was glad to be a part of the conference, and will look forward to next year.”

Jon Hirschtick
Dassault Systèmes Group Executive
SolidWorks Board Member

“As first-timers at COFES, Proficiency was very pleased to find a strong emphasis on CAD interoperability threaded through many sessions. COFES brings an intense focus to the major engineering software issues of the day, and takes a long look at how they might be resolved in the years to come.”

Michael Jannery
VP of Marketing
Proficiency

“COFES2002 was particularly successful for us in allowing opportunities to meet press, analysts and to discuss possible partnerships within the industry. This year’s event seemed even more successful than before in encouraging such meetings.”

Al Moulton
President and CEO
Graphisoft U.S.

“You did a great job with COFES2002!  I'm glad I attended--it was very intellectually stimulating and motivational and I met a lot of new people.”

Dennis Nagy
Technology Business Consulting

“Other than sex, the morning keynotes at COFES [2002] were the best two hours I've ever spent in my life.”

Jerry Laiserin
Industry Analyst
LaiserinLetter

"Your second 'knowledge turn' for COFES surpassed an already-high standard. One participant told me 'This conference is different than any I've ever been to. Most conferences are bang-bang-bang; go to a technology suite, then another. Here, the people are actually trying to make a difference.' Another participant said he 'didn't know what to expect' and was 'blown away.' Personally, it's a pleasure to work with such bright AND honorable people. I hope the entire Cyon crew feels the satisfaction and pride you deserve."

Peter Marks
Managing Director
Design Insight

"…the conference format is considerably different from the norm, and provides a significant opportunity for personal contact with a highly qualified audience. Each participating company, instead of hosting an exhibit booth, hosts a hotel 'technology suite.' When attendees register (or upon arrival), they make appointments for 30-minute private sessions with the companies in which they are interested. This self-selected audience arrives at the suite ready to talk business, unlike the random audience one might encounter on an Exhibit Hall floor.

"Conversely, because the companies are represented by senior management, they also are prepared to discuss business, rather than simply delivering a marketing presentation. I was pleasantly surprised, for example, to be able to meet and have substantive discussions with the senior management of companies with whom I had been trying for years to cultivate strategic partnerships with one or more PIAs, as well as a few companies that I had not even considered.

"COFES is also an opportunity to meet with fellow senior executives of other software development companies in an informal setting conducive to discussing possible business partnerships. The AEC market is only one portion of the attendance, but sufficient in number to be worth attending. I think you might find it of value to attend or participate next year."

Michael Tardif
Director
Center for Technology and Practice Management
The American Institute of Architects