Introduction

SAP today announced that Bill McDermott, their CEO for the past nine years, is stepping down instantly. 

The company states he chose not to restore his contract. 

SAP Executive Board members Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein have been elected as co-CEOs.

The Story of McDermott

McDermott started his job career as a deli owner in Amityville, Long Island.

He joined SAP in the year 2002 as the head of SAP North America. 

And then later became co-CEO in 2008 and the company’s CEO in 2014.

This made him the primary American to take on this position at the German enterprise giant. 

Under his leadership, SAP’s yearly revenue and stock value continued to increase. 

He will continue with the company in an advisory position for the following two months.

It is unclear why McDermott chose to step down at this point. 

Activist investor Elliott Management lately revealed a $1.35 billion stake in SAP.

Although when asked for a comment on this news, an Elliott spokesperson informed that it didn’t have any “immediate comment.”

It is also worth seeing that the company witnessed several failures among its executive ranks in recent months.

For example, both SAP SuccessFactors COO Brigette McInnis-Day and Robert Enslin, the president of its cloud enterprise and a board member, leaving the company for Google Cloud.

McDermott’s highest bet in current years came with the acquisition of Qualtrics for $8 billion. 

At an event last month, McDermott linked this acquisition to Apple’s acquisition of Next and Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram. 

He said that Qualtrics is to SAP what those M&A movements were to those beautiful companies.

Under his management, SAP also obtained corporate expense and travel management firm Concur for $8.3 billion and SuccessFactors for $3.4 billion.

The Introduction of Jennifer and Christian 

McDermott further said that now is the time for everyone to start a fascinating new chapter.

And he is sure that Jennifer and Christian will do an outstanding job.

He looks forward to assisting them as they complete 2019 and lay the groundwork for 2020 and beyond. 

He also added that to every consumer, co-worker, stockholder and associates who have invested their faith in SAP, he conveys his heartfelt appreciation and abiding respect to them.

SEE ALSO: The co-CEO of Oracle, Mark Hurd, is taking a leave of absence, indicating health reasons

Conclusion

SAP’s announcement of Bill McDermott stepping down as CEO after nine successful years marks the end of an era for the company. Under McDermott’s leadership, SAP saw significant growth, including the successful acquisitions of Qualtrics, Concur, and SuccessFactors. His decision to step down comes at a time when SAP is navigating through some executive challenges, but McDermott expressed confidence in the company’s future under the co-CEO leadership of Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein. As the company enters this new chapter, SAP is set to continue its journey of transformation and growth with a focus on the future.

FAQs

1. Why did Bill McDermott step down as CEO of SAP? Bill McDermott chose not to renew his contract and decided to step down as SAP’s CEO after nine years in the role.
2. Who are the new co-CEOs of SAP? SAP has appointed Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein as co-CEOs following McDermott’s departure.
3. What is Bill McDermott’s next role at SAP? Bill McDermott will remain at SAP in an advisory position for the next two months.
4. What were some of McDermott’s major achievements as SAP CEO? Under McDermott’s leadership, SAP saw growth in revenue and stock value, and made key acquisitions, including Qualtrics, Concur, and SuccessFactors.
5. What challenges is SAP currently facing? SAP has seen some executive turnover in recent months, including key departures to competitors like Google Cloud, which could affect the company’s leadership structure.

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