WALLDORF, Germany - March 1, 2005 - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced a realignment of its management structure to reinforce the company's growth strategy and better serve its customers. The realignment of SAP Executive Board member responsibilities along the SAP® solutions value chain-spanning innovation, research and development, production, services, marketing, training, consulting and sales-takes effect immediately.
"Two years ago, we saw an increasing trend among our customers to focus on information technology as key to their ability to execute on business strategy," said Henning Kagermann, chairman and CEO, SAP. "The realignment enables us to better respond to our customers' demands for rapid delivery of highly flexible, innovative solutions that provide competitive advantage and significant increase in productivity."
Following along the SAP product value chain, Peter Zencke is responsible for research and breakthrough innovation including the application development of the Business Process Platform (BPP) as well as new solutions based on it. BPP will deliver ready-to-run business processes accessible as enterprise services and composed through SAP's technology platform.
Shai Agassi is responsible for all software and solution development of existing products, including SAP NetWeaver(tm) as an integration and technology platform. He is also responsible for SAP's Business Solution Groups, which deliver SAP's portfolio of market-leading cross-industry applications-such as customer relationship management and supply chain management-and more than 25 industry-specific solutions. Shai Agassi is also responsible for product and industry marketing.
In addition to his existing function as head of Global Human Resources, Claus Heinrich now manages all SAP's research and development centers (SAP Labs) around the world and is responsible for final production and delivery (Production Unit) of SAP software and the internal security and IT organizations.
- Gerhard Oswald continues to lead Global Service & Support;
- Léo Apotheker continues to be responsible for global sales, as well as field services (consulting and training), but also takes over responsibility for global marketing from CEO Henning Kagermann;
- Werner Brandt remains Chief Financial Officer.
About SAP
SAP is the world's leading provider of business software solutions*. Today, more than 26,150 customers in over 120 countries run more than 88,700 installations of SAP® software - from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize businesses to enterprise-scale suite solutions for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver(tm) platform to drive innovation and enable business change, mySAP(tm) Business Suite solutions are helping enterprises around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP industry solutions support the unique business processes of more than 25 industry segments, including high tech, retail, public sector and financial services. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP." (Additional information at www.sap.com)
(*) SAP defines business software solutions as comprising enterprise resource planning and related software solutions such as supply chain management, customer relationship management, product life-cycle management and supplier relationship management.
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