Welcome to the Cloud Wars Minute — your daily news and commentary show, hosted by Cloud Wars Founder Bob Evans. Each episode provides insights and perspectives around the “reimagination machine” that is the Cloud.
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In this Cloud Wars Minute, Bob Evans details the shift in leadership that is taking place at SAP, led by CEO Christian Klein.
Highlights
00:40 — Interesting new management developments at SAP reflect what Bob has been referring to as the “new SAP,” following the big transformation that CEO Christian Klein has led over the past 2-1/2 years.
01:06 — Traditionally, SAP has been the personification of co-founder and chairman Hasso Plattner. Earlier this year, it was announced that Plattner will serve as chairman for one more year before stepping down.
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01:55 — “Klein is fashioning his own model and persona for SAP,” explains Bob, “which is absolutely essential for a CEO to do.” He has led SAP to become the second fastest-growing major cloud provider in the world. As a result, he is positioning SAP’s leadership team in a whole new way — one that is purpose-built, and purpose-recruited.
02:38 — Julia White, who is currently SAP’s chief solutions and marketing officer, and Scott Russell, SAP’s head of global sales and customer success, have both had their contracts extended through the end of 2026.
02:52 — Thomas Sauressig, executive board member and head of product engineering for SAP’s applications, received an extension of his contract through October 2025. Dominik Asam, SAP’s new CFO, joined the team on March 1, 2023.
03:20 — Across the executive management team at SAP, Klein has recruited and selected candidates he feels confident about as the company moves forward with ideas about the new SAP.
04:08 — About 40% of SAP’s total revenue now comes from the cloud and that number is continuing to grow very gradually. To become the second fastest-growing major cloud provider in the world is an extraordinary achievement, Bob concludes.
