Hasso Plattner, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SAP is to be succeeded by Punit Renjen, who was previously the CEO of Deloitte Global.
SAP has designated Punit Renjen to stand for election at the corporation’s annual general meeting on May 11th. This will begin the succession process, bringing an end to Hasso Plattner’s two decade long term in the role by May 2024.
In a statement Hasso Plattner said: “With extensive experience as a highly successful CEO of one of the world’s largest consulting firms, Punit brings valuable insights and expertise to the board. His deep understanding of our customers’ needs, and the broader industry make him an ideal candidate for Chairman of the Supervisory Board from 2024 onwards.”
Plattner founded SAP in 1972 with four employees of IBM and was CEO from 1997 to 2003. He will continue to have a 6.16% stake in SAP, which is currently valued at 8.23 billion euros.
Mr Renjen led Deloitte as CEO from 2015 until 2022, a period in which Deloitte’s global sales increased from $35 billion to $59 billion.
He is Indian by birth and won a Rotary Foundation Scholarship to attend Willamette University in the US, leading to a master’s degree in management with honours. Willamette University also awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2019.
He began working for Deloitte in 1989.
As a member of the Leadership Council of the World Economic Forum (WEF), and the International Business Council, and CEO of the leading multinational professional services organisation, he was named “Global Indian of the Year” by the Economic Times.
Deloitte has 415,000 employees in 150 countries, and their strategic partnership with SAP has endured for over 30 years.
Commenting on his nomination to the SAP Supervisory Board Punit Renjen said:
“I am very pleased to be considered for a role at SAP: an iconic company with a key role in the global economy. At a time when the company is successfully transforming into an enterprise application leader in the cloud and delivering on Hasso Plattner’s original vision of helping the world run better and improving people’s lives, I could not be more excited at the opportunity to help shape the future of a company that has unmatched relevance for global business. I am looking forward to working with talented colleagues around the world to ensure the company continues to help its customers solve their most pressing problems.”
Hasso Plattner’s retirement from his role as Supervisory Board Chairman has been expected for some years and Punit Renjen’s nomination as his successor has led to a rise in SAP shares.
