Planera Adds Industry Leaders Matt Burness and Mark Baracani to Strengthen Product and Construction Expertise

Former Autodesk and Microsoft executives join Planera as the company accelerates innovation and growth in construction scheduling

San Jose, CA – November 5, 2025 – Planera, the leader in visual collaborative scheduling for construction, today announced the appointment of Matt Burness as Head of Product and Mark Baracani as Advisor, further expanding the company’s bench of seasoned construction technology and industry leaders. The additions come on the heels of Planera’s recent announcement of $8 million in incremental funding and accelerated growth in the data center sector.

Driving Innovation in Construction Scheduling

Matt Burness brings deep product and construction technology expertise from over six years at Autodesk, where he led teams responsible for driving the creation and implementation of essential features of Autodesk Construction Cloud, notably those that facilitate enterprise administration and team collaboration. Prior to Autodesk, Burness held key roles at PlanGrid, where he focused on enterprise product management, and at Project Frog, an innovative modular construction company.

Trained as an architect and product strategist, Burness has a track record of bridging design, field operations, and technology to deliver solutions that improve how projects are planned and executed. In his new role, he will drive Planera’s product strategy and roadmap as the company continues to scale its collaborative scheduling platform across a growing customer base.

“Scheduling sits at the heart of every successful construction project - it’s the foundation for delivering on time, on budget, and safely," said Matt Burness, Head of Product at Planera. “Planera’s mission to revolutionize how scheduling is done across the industry, combined with a world-class team that truly understands construction from the inside out, makes this an incredibly exciting opportunity.”

Expanding Strategic Depth in Data Center Construction

Joining as an Advisor, Mark Baracani adds decades of experience in construction operations and Lean implementation, most recently serving as Global Director of Lean Construction and U.S. Operational Excellence at Microsoft. In that role, Baracani led Lean transformation initiatives across global data center projects, building on a distinguished career at Amazon Web Services, where he managed large-scale data center construction and engineering programs.

Baracani’s expertise will help guide Planera’s continued success in the data center market—a key focus area where the company has seen significant adoption of its scheduling solutions.

“Traditional scheduling tools only show you what has already happened – they’re reporting tools, not collaboration tools. Planera is built to bring the entire project team together into one shared environment where everyone can see risks early, model solutions together, and stay focused on outcomes – not just reports. Planera represents a modern approach to construction scheduling, and I’m thrilled to help this team advance the way that complex projects – especially in the data center sector – are planned and delivered.”

Building Momentum Across the Industry

The appointments of Burness and Baracani follow a period of strong growth for Planera, marked by increased adoption among top general contractors and the company’s recent funding milestone.

“Adding Matt and Mark underscores our commitment to building the strongest, most experienced team in construction technology,” said Nitin Bhandari, CEO and Co-founder of Planera. “Their combined expertise—from product innovation to data center execution—will be instrumental as we continue to scale and serve builders worldwide.”

About Planera

Planera is a leading provider of visual, CPM-based construction scheduling solutions that transform project planning and management. Trusted by industry leaders including Balfour Beatty, Barton Malow, Big-D Construction, HITT Contracting, Ryan Companies, Skanska, and Zachry Construction, Planera empowers teams to build faster, smarter, and with greater clarity. Planera is backed by investors such as Sierra Ventures, Sorenson Capital, Brick & Mortar Ventures, Prudence, and Firebolt. Learn more at www.planera.io

‍