SAP Turns Eyes to Sales, Profits with Executive Shuffle (
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The appointment of Leo Apotheker as SAP co-CEO signals a shift in the company's focus to boosting sales and profit margins.The appointment of Leo Apotheker as co-CEO
of SAP signals much more than the impending
retirement of incumbent CEO Henning
Kagermann in 2009.
It signals a sea change in the companys business plans as it shifts its
effort from making huge investments in new software products and acquiring
companies to reaping the highest possible profit margins from those
investments.
SAPs executive shuffle itself comes as
no surprise. Its been expected that Apotheker, who was appointed deputy CEO
in March 2007, would take over sole possession of Kagermanns CEO
role when his contract expires in 2009.
Read more here about SAP's move to co-CEOs.
Its also been expected that SAP would
appoint several new executives to its Supervisory Board as the company changes
its business focus.
But the appointment of Apotheker, whose roots run deep in sales and
marketing, is perhaps the best indicator that the company is shifting its focus
from software development to sales and customer service.
SAP, the worlds largest business
applications company by revenue, is well-known for its engineering expertise.
The company was founded by five former IBM engineers;
Kagermann received his doctorate in theoretical physics.
Apotheker, who holds a degree in international relations and economics
rather than engineering, lives much more in the customer world. A member of SAPs
Executive Board since 2002, Apotheker has since then been responsible for all
of SAPs customer operationsconsulting,
education, training, sales, marketing, small and midsize business, and field services. Prior to that assignment
he ran EMEA (Europe, Middle East
and Africa) sales for SAP.
Given SAPs strategy to grow the company
by revenueversus chief rival Oracles strategy to grow by profit through
acquisitionApotheker seems to be the best candidate for the top spot, analysts
say.
[SAP] is all about growing revenue. So
in a sense having a guy who spent his life in a field organization makes a lot
of sense, said AMR Research analyst Jim
Shepherd. I dont think this signals any kind of strategic shift. SAP
handles these transitions better than anyone Ive seen. Theyre very
transparent. Can you imagine any other company having co-CEOs? They would tear
each other apart. SAP will do this very
elegantly.