New extended board including Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Revenue Officers (Cros) should further increase efficiency and accelerate transformation.

SAP SE announced today that Sebastian Steinhäuser (39) is moving to the SAP board. In the future, he will head the newly created board area Strategy & Operations in order to further advance the implementation of the SAP strategy and to simplify corporate processes. The SAP supervisory board also extended the contract of board member Thomas Saueressig, head of Customer Services & Delivery, by another three years until 2028.

SAP also announced the formation of an extended board of directors* from managers of the company, including the newly appointed CTO, the Co-Cros and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). The new extended board of SAP will act as a strategic advisory committee to advance the company’s implementation of the company’s “AI First, Suite First” strategy. At the global level, important initiatives are to be aligned and their smooth implementation is to be ensured throughout the company. The SAP board remains the top management body of SAP SE.

New board area for faster strategy implementation and simplified processes

The new Board of Directors Strategy & Operations will drive the transformation goals of SAP and the strategy internally and externally and simplify corporate processes. By integrating Strategy & Operations with Global Marketing – led by the newly appointed CMO Ada Agrait – the collaboration is to be improved and the digital experience for customers and partners is strengthened.

“Since 2020, Sebastian Steinhäuser has played a key role in the corporate strategy of SAP. We see him as an important leader and architect of the future of SAP. We congratulate him and wish him every success in his new role,” says Pekka Ala-Pietilä, chairman of the SAP SE SAP SE. “We also transmit Thomas Saueressig the best wishes for his upcoming term on the SAP board. His contributions were and are crucial that more and more SAP customers choose their way to the cloud. We look forward to his further success.”

Steinhäuser came to SAP in 2020 and has held various roles since then, including that of the Chief Strategy Officer. In this function, he also led the growth fields Business Transformation Management, Business Network and Sustainability. In 2024 he was appointed Chief Strategy & Operations Officer. His area of responsibility expanded to include business processes, processes and IT as well as partner network and commercial functions. Before entering SAP, Steinhäuser worked at the Boston Consulting Group, where he supported customers with their corporate and digital transformation projects.

Further organizational innovations

SAP also presents a new Chief Technology Officer and two new Chief Revenue Officer. Philipp Herzig takes on the role of the global CTO in SAP, in addition to his current position as Chief Ai Officer. In this role, he will monitor the technology strategy, innovation, research and corporate development of SAP and ensure the continuing success of Business AI and SAP sustainability units, while he continues to drive innovations for SAP customers and partners.

Jan Gilg and Emmanuel (Manos) Raptopoulos will in future lead the SAP Customer Success organization together as Chief Revenue Officer. Gilg, currently President and Chief Product Officer from Cloud ERP, will then take over SAP America and the global SAP Business Suite. Raptopoulos, currently regional president of SAP EMEA, will also lead the SAP Mee and SAP APAC regions. An extended management team for sales that combines comprehensive product and business experience with great sales experience is intended to ensure that customer solutions are being developed for sustainable success. Herzig, Gilg and Raptopoulos report to the SAP CEO Christian Klein and will in future be part of the extended board of SAP.

All changes come into force on February 1, 2025.

* Members of the extended board:
Ada Agrait (Chief Marketing Officer), Michael Ameling (General Manager, Business Technology Platform), Sebastian Behrendt (Head of Global Finance), Jan Gilg (Chief Revenue Officer Americas & Global Business Suite), Philipp Herzig (Chief Technology Officer), Thomas Pfiter (Head of Global Customer Engagement), Emmanuel Raptopoulos (Chief Revenue Officer, APAC/EMEA/MEE), TBA (General Manager, Business Suite), Monika Schaller (Chief Communications Officer)

You can find this press release in English here.

Further press information can be found in the SAP News Center. Follow SAP under @Sap.

Information on SAP
As the world’s leading provider of corporate applications and business AI, SAP (NYSE: SAP) is at the interface between companies and technology. For over 50 years, companies have been trusting SAP to exploit their full potential by standardizing business -critical processes such as finance, procurement, human resources, supply chains and customer experience. You can find more information at www.sap.com.