SAP (SAP.US) restructuring board of directors: CEO Krayan hands over sales power, All in AI prepares to face the wave of technological disruption.

SAP CEO Christian Klein announced a plan to restructure the executive board and stated that he will personally increase his focus on the field of artificial intelligence. The European software company, with the highest market value, is facing increasing pressure from this technology. According to an all-staff email sent by Klein on Monday, he will transfer oversight of the sales department to board member Thomas Saueressig, who is currently responsible for post-sales affairs and helping customers deploy SAP software. As of April 1st, Saueressig will take on the role of Chief Customer Officer. This strategic adjustment by SAP comes as investors are fleeing from software-as-a-service companies, concerned about their businesses being disrupted by AI. With new AI tools raising concerns about users achieving more tasks and automating more workflows, the stock prices of enterprise software companies have been fluctuating in recent weeks. Last week, there were reports that customers, distributors, and investors of SAP were questioning the pricing and value of its flagship AI products. "The evolution of artificial intelligence is progressing rapidly, and we must keep up," Klein wrote in the email. "We need to once again transform SAP end-to-end and heavily invest in AI." Over the past year, SAP's stock price has fallen by 38%, causing it to lose its position as the highest publicly listed company in Europe. Klein also confirmed in the email a report from last Friday that board member responsible for products and engineering, Mohammad Alram, will not be continuing in his role after his contract ends in March 2027 for personal reasons. Alram's departure will add to the high turnover rate among SAP's top executives in recent years, prompting the company to reallocate board responsibilities. When former Chief Revenue Officer Scott Russell left SAP in 2024, Klein took over some of his sales duties, which will now be passed on to Saueressig. SAP first introduced its AI assistant Joule in 2023, aimed at helping users navigate complex SAP systems and simplify tasks like programming. Some users had previously expressed disappointment, feeling that Joule did not bring the expected return on their initial investment. At that time, SAP responded by saying, "Interest from customers in various industries is strong and broad, and adoption is in line with our expectations." In Monday's email, Klein wrote that SAP needs to change its "product portfolio to reshape how enterprises operate and how end users collaborate with agent-based AI." The way SAP sells and licenses AI solutions must be adjusted to "deliver self-service based on business outcomes," in order to accelerate the adoption of SAP solutions.