SAP Insider Trading

Hasso Plattner holds the reins firmly at SAP, but kingmakers ex-CFO Werner Brand and universal genius "SolMan" Gerd Oswald have jumped ship.

The successful Werner Brand prepared and introduced his successor Luka Mucic very well - some observers even think too well, because Luka Mucic's skills and knowledge would also qualify him to be CEO.

With his extensive SAP know-how, he appears to be a "danger" to Bill McDermott, because Mucic knows more about SAP products than the average CFO should know.

But for the clumsily acting American Bill McDermott, danger is also coming from another direction: Michael Kleinemeier is tactically cleverly staying in the background. Anyone who knows the SAP veteran, however, is aware of his ambition, which can really only have the post of CEO as its goal.

Just as CFO Luka Mucic was selected and shaped by Werner Brand, Michael Kleinemeier was built up as his successor by Gerd Oswald - Oswald retired at the end of 2016.

And already in March 2011, the E-3 editorial read:

"Kleinemeier was a sufficiently successful managing director of SAP partner Itelligence. Even though he left some skeletons in the closet after leaving there, he still gained extensive experience in the important SAP partner landscape.

As head of SAP Germany, he lost the battle against ex-SAP manager Ferri Abolhassan, but no one today blames him for this as weakness or failure.

In an attempt to become self-employed and gain a foothold in the German midmarket, he was again able to gain a lot of practice. Back at SAP as head of DACH, he has been doing an excellent job for about a year.

And Michael Kleinemeier is highly regarded by SAP's existing customers. In addition, he is very familiar with the Walldorf environment. SAP has many experienced managers worldwide, but hardly anyone is as familiar with the "German" ideals of the ERP world market leader from Walldorf as Kleinemeier.

Gerd Oswald's numerous tasks and duties are complex and demanding. It is hard to imagine an SAP board member from outside the company surviving in this post.

You have to have an excellent connection to SAP's existing customers, a high reputation among your own employees and a lot of experience with the German-speaking and global SAP ecosystem to do anything like as conscientious and sustainable a job as Gerd Oswald.

Michael Kleinemeier could make it. [...] A lot depends on Gerd Oswald. He is the mastermind in Walldorf.

Oswald is also the interface with SAP's owners when he meets Dietmar Hopp at the soccer field. [...] Gerd Oswald's path will determine the path of SAP.

The mastermind needs a worthy successor. Michael Kleinemeier is already a faithful companion, and the handover may happen soon.

It is a necessity for the SAP Executive Board and it would be an enrichment for the entire SAP community. The valuable legacy and life's work of mastermind Gerd Oswald must not be lost." (from: E-3 March 2011, page 4)

But Gerd Oswald also "created" Bernd Leukert. The current Chief Technology Officer came to SAP directly from university and had an exemplary career.

He immediately succeeded former Chief Technology Officer Vishal Sikka, who was an "invention" of Hasso Plattner. The two knew each other from Palo Alto and Stanford, where Sikka studied and earned his doctorate in mathematics.

For a long time, Sikka stood for the new SAP, which aligned its actions with the economy of California startups. Hasso Plattner, who spends much of his time in California between Los Angeles and Palo Alto, admired and feared his neighbors: Amazon, Google, Apple, and so on.

For a long time, he had been afraid that "his Walldorfers" would be overwhelmed and run over by the new business rules. That's when Sikka, who is of Indian descent and has several start-ups under his belt and a solid academic background, was an ideal choice.

Only insiders knew better, because history repeats itself: many years earlier, in a similar constellation, Plattner very quickly and directly elevated Shai Agassi to the Board of Management, where, of course, things quickly came to a head with the then still undisputed Chief Technology Officer Peter Zencke.

However, Hasso Plattner was unable to fulfill Agassi's wish to also succeed Henning Kagermann and become CEO. Shai Agassi left SAP. And the relationship between Hasso Plattner and Vishal Sikka also broke down under similar circumstances. Bernd Leukert was in the right place at the right time.

What could happen by 2020:

If SAP's bet on cloud computing pans out, it will probably be business as usual. But if the American Bill McDermott hits the skids due to strategic, political or operational circumstances, it will come down to a duel between Luka Mucic and Michael Kleinemeier.

Werner Brand and Gerd Oswald can then watch this spectacle from a safe position - but Hasso Plattner will once again have to play fireman: Shai Agassi wanted to succeed Henning Kagermann and not enter into a dual leadership with Léo Apotheker. Agassi left, and soon after Apotheker did too.

The new dual leadership was Jim Hagemann Snabe and Bill McDermott, who successfully saw off his partner.