NAFEMS Announces Change of Leadership for the ASSESS Initiative

Nick Appleyard to Succeed Joe Walsh as head of the Industry Thinktank

JANUARY 23rd, 2025 - NAFEMS, the International Association for the Engineering Analysis, Modelling and Simulation Community, has announced that Joe Walsh, founder and leader of the ASSESS Initiative, will step back from his role in March 2025. NAFEMS has appointed Nick Appleyard to lead the next chapter of the initiative as Executive Director of ASSESS.

Outgoing head Joe Walsh commented, “I am proud to have been involved with the ASSESS Initiative from its formation to its integration as a key part of NAFEMS,”. He went on to say, “Through collaboration with thought leaders in the engineering simulation field, ASSESS has delivered multiple strategic insight papers and the Engineering Simulation Metadata Specification. ASSESS, as part of NAFEMS, is well positioned to take a leadership role in enabling and improving the future of engineering simulation.”

Joe founded ASSESS with support from several long-standing industry experts and NAFEMS members after discussions at the NAFEMS Americas Conference in Colorado Springs in 2014. Joe's presentation at that Conference, “The Changing Role of Simulation”, discussed the transition from technology drivers to business drivers along with the inevitability of a simulation revolution. This led the session chair to comment, “We need a whole conference on this topic”, and the concept of ASSESS was born.

Tim Morris, Chief Executive of NAFEMS, said, “Joe is a well-known figure in the simulation community, and his tireless work with ASSESS both before and after the acquisition by NAFEMS has truly helped push the industry forward. To many, Joe simply “is” ASSESS, and we are indebted to him for his efforts over the past 10 years”.

Joe will remain in position until the ASSESS Summit, which takes place in March 2025 in Atlanta. To achieve a smooth transition, Nick Appleyard, new Executive Director of the ASSESS Initiative, will work in tandem with Joe up until the Summit. Nick has over 30 years of experience in the CAE simulation market, spanning technical, sales, and leadership roles globally.

“I am honored to lead the NAFEMS ASSESS initiative and to build on the great work that Joe has accomplished over the past 10 years in shaping ASSESS into what it is today. I look forward to working with him during the transition”, commented Nick Appleyard. Nick believes, "...with the merging of engineering simulation with EDA and PLM, along with the convergence of engineering simulation, digital twins, and AI, we are entering an exciting time.”

The ASSESS Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 10-12, 2025, will, therefore, mark Mr. Walsh’s final Summit as leader of the initiative and see the transition to Mr. Appleyard officially marked. This will give attendees at the Summit the opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the initiative and, crucially, map out the next phase.

“The ASSESS initiative will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of engineering simulation”, added Appleyard. “I look forward to collaborating with the thought leaders of the ASSESS initiative to advance engineering simulation and expand its impact in driving product innovation as part of the digital transformation journey.”

Places are still available for the ASSESS 2025 Summit, where the initiative's future will be mapped out, and the new phase unveiled. You can register today at nafems.org/assess25

Further information and high-resolution images are available on request. Interviews and further comments are also available with relevant parties. Contact marketing@nafems.org to discuss.