SAP Co-CEO Jim Hagemann Snabe to Step Down

For three years, SAP has been in the unusual position of having two CEOs. But next year, that will  change as Germany-based Jim Hagemann Snabe steps down and Bill McDermott continues as the company’s CEO.

Alex Konrad with Forbes reported, “SAP announced Sunday that co-CEO Jim Hagemann Snabe will step down from that role and transition from the software company’s executive board to its supervisory board in May 2014. The move will make American co-CEO Bill McDermott sole chief executive for the company as it enters year four of its transition to a cloud and data focused company.”

Bloomberg’s Cornelius Rahn recalled, “Snabe and McDermott took over in February 2010 from Leo Apotheker, who was removed after failing to boost revenue amid customer and employee discontent. Over 3 1/2 years, the co-CEOs spent more than $14 billion on acquisitions to add mobile and cloud-computing technologies and accelerated a push in SAP’s homegrown database product, boosting the stock about 70 percent and giving it a brief run as Germany’s most valuable company.”

Maria Sheahan with Reuters observed, “McDermott’s elevation to sole CEO may also shift the focus of SAP from its German home market to the United States. Snabe is based at the company’s headquarters in the German town of Walldorf near Heidelberg, while McDermott’s main office is at SAP’s North American center in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.”

According to All Things D’s Arik Hesseldahl, “The company’s CTO, Vishal Sikka, who also sits on its board of directors, is based in Palo Alto, Calif., and is considered a strong candidate to join McDermott as the next co-CEO once Hagemann Snabe’s departure is effective. Sikka took over responsibility for all software development work during another shake-up in May.”

RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS

• Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality

  FEATURE |  By James Maguire,
  December 16, 2020

• AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  December 11, 2020

• Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  December 04, 2020

• Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  November 18, 2020

• Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA

  FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
  November 10, 2020

• Top 10 AIOps Companies

  FEATURE |  By Samuel Greengard,
  November 05, 2020

• What is Text Analysis?

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  November 02, 2020

• How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 29, 2020

• Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 23, 2020

• The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 16, 2020

• Top 10 Chatbot Platforms

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  October 07, 2020

• Finding a Career Path in AI

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  October 05, 2020

• CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science

  FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
  September 25, 2020

• Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 25, 2020

• Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  September 22, 2020

• NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 18, 2020

• Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
  September 14, 2020

• Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
  September 13, 2020

• IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 11, 2020

• Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality

  FEATURE |  By James Maguire,
  September 09, 2020