Creative software company Maxon is strengthening its executive leadership as it prepares for the next phase of growth across 2D, 3D, motion graphics, and visual effects tooling.
The company has appointed Steve Forde as Chief Product Officer (CPO), tasking him with leading Maxon’s global product organization and shaping long-term product strategy across its expanding portfolio. In the role, Forde will work closely with Philip Losch, Chief Technology and AI Officer, aligning product execution with emerging technologies and evolving creator workflows.
The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for both Maxon and the broader creative technology market. As 3D creation, motion design, and real-time content move from specialist disciplines into mainstream professional requirements—driven by gaming, advertising, film, and social media—vendors are under pressure to balance power, accessibility, and scale. Maxon sees Forde’s background as well suited to navigating that transition.
Forde brings decades of experience spanning high-growth startups and global technology platforms serving creative professionals. He has held senior leadership roles at Adobe and Amazon, where he led product, engineering, and design teams behind widely used platforms including Adobe After Effects and Amazon Prime Video. Earlier in his career, he founded and led two startups, including GridIron Software, where he developed plugins for After Effects—an experience that first brought him into close collaboration with Maxon as early as 2007.
In joining Maxon, Forde said he was drawn to the convergence of people, technology, and a fundamental shift in how creative work is produced. He pointed to the rapid expansion of 3D skills into everyday creative roles, arguing that intelligent workflows and thoughtful product design can make advanced tools accessible to a much broader audience without sacrificing creative depth.
As CPO, Forde’s mandate includes defining a clear, long-term product vision while scaling Maxon’s product organization to support global teams, increasingly complex customer needs, and growing enterprise adoption. A key challenge will be maintaining the company’s close connection to its artist community while operating at greater scale—a balance Maxon considers central to its identity.
David McGavran, CEO of Maxon, said Forde’s ability to connect long-term vision with practical execution made him a strong fit for the role. He emphasized that Forde understands both Maxon’s creative roots and the direction in which the market is heading, particularly as new technologies reshape content creation.
A major focus of Forde’s leadership will be the responsible integration of emerging technologies, including AI, into Maxon’s products. Rather than replacing artistic intent, Maxon aims to use technology to reduce friction in workflows, allowing creators to spend more time on creative decision-making and less time managing complexity. Grounding innovation in real-world production environments and listening closely to users will remain central to the company’s product strategy.
Looking ahead, Maxon plans to continue investing in product innovation that serves its global creator base while expanding into new markets and use cases. Under Forde’s leadership, the company is positioning itself to help define how 3D and media creation workflows evolve over the next five years and beyond.