SAP Man in Davos

A house of his own for Thomas Saueressig

SAP traditionally has its own house in the mountain village of Davos and spends a good deal of money on its image. While at SAP, communication is being cut back everywhere, and many SAP customers are looking for discussion partners and an open ERP discourse, nothing was missing in Davos. It is interesting to note that marketing is increasingly taking the lead, while content is on the decline. As the saying goes: where’s the beef?

This year, Thomas Saueressig countered this negative trend with a convincing content presentation. In a panel discussion on German news channel N-TV, he argued precisely and convincingly on the topics of AI, supply chains, and corporate responsibility. Both Saueressig’s statements and his facial expressions were authentic at the small panel discussion.

Last appearance as Chief Development Officer

That was probably one of his last public appearances as SAP's Chief Development Officer. SAP CEO Christian Klein has appointed him to a higher position. Starting in April, Thomas Saueressig will be responsible for customer services and delivery. Being responsible for the well-being of customers is a challenge. Former Executive Board member and current Supervisory Board member Gerd Oswald was extremely successful in a similar role for many years. If Saueressig follows in Oswald's footsteps and is successful, he could not only become a Davos Man in the positive sense, but also be at the start of a great global career.

Competing with SAP CEO Christian Klein

Of course, Thomas Saueressig's good performance in Davos has also triggered speculation about competition with SAP CEO Christian Klein, who was in Davos last year and was not nearly as confident in an exclusive interview with German magazine Handelsblatt ‘s editor-in-chief Sebastian Matthes. In the Klein interview, it was obvious that the questions had been carefully prepared, which meant that Christian Klein's voice was neither lively nor authentic. Thomas Saueressig, on the other hand, had a warm and convincing voice.

Called to higher things or just SAP?

Thomas Saueressig is one of the youngest DAX board members and, despite his many successes, is still at the beginning of his career. Now that he has joined SAP's Executive Board, he will attract more international attention and work even more closely with global SAP customers. This would enable him to take the next step in his career, as former SAP Executive Board member Jim Hagemann Snabe impressively demonstrated. Perhaps in a few years we will see Thomas Saueressig on of SAP's many customers’ supervisory boards. But Saueressig should certainly expand his involvement as an SAP man in Davos.