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Management Team

BSD has been simplifying architecture through technology and innovation for over 20 years. Meet the management team that has created a family of software products and productivity tools for architects, engineers, and design professionals. They are recognized throughout the country as subject matter experts in the fields of specification writing, cost estimating, and computer-aided design.

Robert Paul Dean, AIA, CSI, CCS

Robert Dean is President and Chief Operating Officer of BSD. He is responsible for day-to-day business administration and for new business development and is also one of the most experienced and knowledgeable experts on automated specification systems in the country.

A licensed architect since 1968, he joined the company in 1993 as Vice President with the charter of expanding the company’s product line and services beyond construction cost estimating. Mr. Dean originated BSD SpecLink and continues to be involved in its ongoing enhancement. He designed and assisted in production of the PerSpective® product for a joint venture between The Construction Specifications Institute and the Design-Build Institute of America. He also designed and managed the development of AGC DocuBuilder® for the Associated General Contractors of America. He continues to be involved in the maintenance and enhancement of all these products.

Prior to joining BSD, Mr. Dean developed the first commercial automated specification system in the United States. As Vice President at Heery International, Inc., a large Atlanta A/E firm, he originated the concept for a Q&A specification system for the microcomputer. It was ultimately developed by Mr. Dean for the Sweet’s Division of McGraw-Hill, Inc. and launched in 1989 as SweetSpec. It was later transferred to the American Institute of Architects, where it was re-christened MASTERSPEC Q&A. Mr. Dean served as Director of the project at AIA, until it was moved from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. in 1993.

Mr. Dean was an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Tulane University for six years, where he taught a number of technical subjects in addition to design studios. He has instructed students in subjects as diverse as building construction, architectural acoustics, energy conservation in buildings, mechanical and electrical equipment of buildings, and alternative energy sources (solar energy, wind power, etc.). Mr. Dean holds a Master of Architecture degree from Tulane and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Washington.

John Witherspoon

John Witherspoon founded the company in 1983. Today he is BSD’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. He is responsible for BSD’s software architecture and for establishing the direction of the company’s future software development. He is the software engineer primarily responsible for the design and operation of the BSD SpecLink software.

A graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Architecture/Computer Science, Mr. Witherspoon has been a member of the American Association of Cost Engineers since 1978. He began his construction systems career in 1975 with consulting work on the development of the UNIFORMAT Work Breakdown Structure then under development for the GSA. He then joined Hanscomb Associates, Inc., an international construction consulting firm, where he became Vice President with responsibility for Southern Region operations. At Hanscomb he managed studies and led the development of a number of construction-related projects for various United States Government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, the General Services Administration, and the Department of the Interior.

As president of BSD, Mr. Witherspoon directed systems analysis, design, and programming of several commercially successful cost estimating software products. These software products include COMPOSER 2, COMPOSER PLUS, COMPOSER GOLD, BSD CostLink, BSD CostLink/CM, and BSD CostLink/AE. The military version of COMPOSER PLUS, MCACES, was selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1989 for the Corps’ cost estimating work and was licensed for worldwide use. In 1990, the Tri-Services Committee selected MCACES GOLD, a military version of COMPOSER GOLD, as the DoD-wide detail cost estimating system.

Charles H. Hooper, Jr.

Charles H. Hooper, Jr. is Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of Building Systems Design, Inc., where he is responsible for all strategic and operational technical functions of the company. He has been a part of the BSD team in various capacities since 1991.

Mr. Hooper has over forty years of computer and software-related experience, extending from commercial to academic, consulting and government-related working environments. His background includes software development, computer operations, and a variety of management-level positions.

Prior to BSD, he was Director of software development at Sales Technology, a Dunn and Bradstreet company based in Atlanta. Earlier, he was Vice President and co-founder of Universal Microsystems, Inc., where he directed development of neural-network artificial intelligence research, as well as communication and commercial software design and implementation.

Mr. Hooper was a Research Engineer and Instructor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received a master's degree in Computer Science. His publications at Georgia Tech focused on his specialty of computer simulation. Mr. Hooper also earned a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Georgia.

Susan McClendon, RA, CSI, CCS

Susan McClendon is Executive Vice President of BSD. She joined the firm in 1995 and is Project Manager for BSD SpecLink, which now includes CSI-DBIA’s PerSpective. Ms. McClendon was also Project Manager for the original PerSpective product, which was developed by BSD for a joint venture between CSI and DBIA. Today she manages the ongoing data development and updating of BSD SpecLink and also manages the maintenance of BSD’s website, at www.bsdsoftlink.com. A registered architect since 1975, Ms. McClendon is very knowledgeable about software design and is an invaluable participant in the planning and implementation of BSD’s products for the A/E/C market. She is an acknowledged expert in documentation for the design-build process and has published numerous articles on the topic, including several in CSI’s Construction Specifier magazine. She is also expert in the design, implementation, and maintenance of microcomputer databases.

At Heery International, Inc. in the 1980’s, Ms. McClendon was one of the key developers on the SweetSpec automated specifications project, developed by Heery for Sweet’s Division of McGraw-Hill, Inc. She continued to work on the project when it became Heery‘s SPECSystem and later transferred to the AIA when the product was acquired by AIA and renamed MASTERSPEC Q&A. In addition to working on the product’s basic design, she oversaw software development, managed the database, and supervised quarterly updating.

Prior to working at Heery, Ms. McClendon was an architect and specification writer for several architectural firms in Omaha, Nebraska. At HDR, Inc., she wrote project specifications for hospitals and Construction Manager projects for six years and rewrote the office master specifications in CSI 3-Part format. At Leo A. Daly Company, her principal project was the administration, checking, and enforcement of specifications and shop drawing submittals for the Corps of Engineers Saudi Arabia National Guard headquarters project.

Karen M. Dean

Karen M. Dean is Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Building Systems Design, Inc., where she is responsible for all financial planning, accounting, and reporting functions of the corporation. She is also in charge of all administrative and human resources activities and is the corporate secretary. She has held various positions at BSD since 1998.

Ms. Dean has over 25 years of varied experience, including a successful career in commercial sales. Her background includes executive management, operational leadership, and extensive telecommunications experience.

Prior to BSD, she was Business Manager for First Network Communications, Inc. in Metarie, Louisiana, where she developed and implemented national speaking tours, supervised a training center, organized advanced telecommunications training, and developed programs for sales aids distribution.

Before joining First Network, she was Vice President of Operations for Dynomic Network Communications, a telecommunications company with nationwide distribution. While there, she managed five corporate divisions and directed sales and marketing efforts.

Ms. Dean was BellSouth Mobility's top salesperson in the Louisiana market during her successful employment there, and won a number of top sales awards.

Ms. Dean received a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing with a minor in Business Administration from Southeastern Louisiana University, and has completed extensive continuing education training.