SAP CEO Bill McDermott has been the software giant’s leader since 2010 as a co-CEO, then, officially the first American CEO in 2014. He has had extensive work experience and executive roles from Xerox, Gartner and Siebel Systems.
SAP has announced on 10 October 2019 that SAP CEO Bill McDermott will not be renewing his contract and is stepping down from his executive role effective immediately. Taking on his role are SAP Executive Board Members Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein as approved by the Supervisory Board of SAP SE.
McDermott, 58, will portray an advisory role until the end of 2019 to ensure a smooth transition.
Professor Hasso Plattner, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE, has expressed his appreciation of the SAP CEO’s legacy in the company. He said:
“SAP would not be what it is today without Bill McDermott.”
“Bill made invaluable contributions to this company and he was a main driver of SAP’s transition to the cloud, which will fuel our growth for many years to come. We thank him for everything he has done for SAP,” Plattner said.
The SAP Chairman also congratulated McDermott’s successors, Morgan and Klein, on taking on the opportunity to build on the strong foundation for SAP’s future. He shared:
“Bill and I made the decision over a year ago to expand Jennifer and Christian’s roles as part of a long-term process to develop them as our next generation of leaders. We are confident in their vision and capabilities as we take SAP to its next phase of growth and innovation.”
The esteemed SAP CEO said:
“Every CEO dreams of being able to transition a company to its next-generation from a position of significant strength.”
“When you look at where we were and where we are, I simply could not be prouder of what this company has achieved over the past decade. I am thankful for the opportunity to lead one of the world’s finest companies. Now is the moment for everyone to begin an exciting new chapter, and I am confident that Jennifer and Christian will do an outstanding job. I look forward to supporting them as they finish 2019 and lay the foundation for 2020 and beyond. To every customer, partner, shareholder, and colleague who invested their trust in SAP, I can only relay my heartfelt gratitude and enduring respect,” McDermott exclaimed.
McDermott’s footprint in the SAP ecosystem has been undeniable. Upon joining the German software giant in 2002 as head of North America, SAP has achieved significant market share in the region, which led to the company becoming a global powerhouse. In 2008, he joined the Executive Board and has led customer operations worldwide.
For over nine years in SAP as CEO, McDermott has supported and witnessed the company’s portfolio expansion, which includes initiating a major shift to cloud computing. Since his leadership in 2010, key metrics such as market value, revenue, profits, employee engagement, and environmental sustainability have all been prioritised.
Under McDermott’s leadership, the company has made significant acquisitions and game-changers such as Qualtrics, Concur, SuccessFactors and Callidus.
SAP CEO Bill McDermott is confident in the timing of him leaving the role to Klein and Morgan. SAP has released its preliminary third-quarter revenue and profit highlighting a strong double-digit revenue and profit growth and significant margin expansion including Cloud bookings with increased 33{8bf2b29f36318f0ac46ab1cc03d7035abce669a1cea16c9ed62389a818fa22fd} on a constant currency basis, more than double the pace of the second quarter.
