SAP and Punit Renjen Have Mutually Agreed to Part Ways

In November 2023 E3 reported on the numerous construction sites on the SAP Supervisory Board. Now the situation has once again escalated. The designated chairman of the Supervisory Board, Punit Renjen, is to be succeeded by Pekka Ala-Pietilä.

Punit Renjen

SAP's Supervisory Board has proposed Pekka Ala-Pietilä for election as a new member of the Supervisory Board and intends to nominate him as the designated successor to Supervisory Board Chairman Professor Hasso Plattner. However, at the Annual General Shareholders' Meeting on May 15, Ala-Pietilä will only be nominated for election to the Supervisory Board for a two-year term and, if elected, will also assume the role of future Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

When former Deloitte manager Punit Renjen was nominated last year, SAP Chairman Professor Plattner raved about his designated successor. Christof Kerkmann of the German newspaper Handelsblatt quoted Hasso Plattner: "It is difficult to find a candidate with such a reputation and intimate knowledge of the market. I coudn’t have found a better one".

As recently as the February 2024 issue of E3, we wrote: "As of May, Punit Renjen will only be Chairman of the SAP Supervisory Board, and thus not operationally responsible, but if he succeeds in separating the wheat from the chaff through a clever personnel policy, forming a new, agile, and communicative SAP team, regardless of personal sensitivities and long-standing merits—then yes, SAP could be three times the size it is today in 2040, when S/4 is finally retired. Punit Renjen can turn SAP around. He can show the board a way into the future; he can multiply SAP's revenue. There will be a good deal of resistance, because many supervisory boards, executive boards, and managers have made themselves comfortable. The list of SAP managers who do not want change is a long one.

But now Hasso Plattner and Punit Renjen have decided to amicably part ways. The reason is said to be their differing views on the role of a future chairman of the board—the role Punit Renjen had been nominated for—should play in the company. Punit Renjen has therefore decided to resign from the Supervisory Board effective from the close of the SAP Annual General Shareholders' Meeting on May 15, 2024. He will be succeeded by Pekka Ala-Pietilä.

Pekka Ala-Pietilä

Of course, SAP cannot, and must not, reveal the whole truth, but our editorial in November 2023: "As of May, Punit Renjen will only be Chairman of the SAP Supervisory Board, and thus not operationally responsible, but if he succeeds in separating the wheat from the chaff through a clever personnel policy, forming a new, agile, and communicative SAP team, regardless of personal sensitivities and long-standing merits—then yes, SAP could be three times the size it is today in 2040, when S/4 is finally retired. Punit Renjen can turn SAP around. He can show the board a way into the future; he can multiply SAP's revenue. There will be a good deal of resistance, because many supervisory boards, executive boards, and managers have made themselves comfortable. The list of SAP managers who do not want change is a long one.

“After two decades at the helm of SAP SE, the company I’ve nurtured from its inception, ensuring a successful handover of the leadership baton is paramount to me and crucial for SAP’s continued success,” said Professor Hasso Plattner, who has served as Chairman since 2003. “In Pekka Ala-Pietilä, I recognize a leader who not only possesses a profound understanding of our industry and the intricacies of European SE governance, but also one who has been a steadfast ally through many of SAP’s pivotal moments. Before looking ahead, let me also express my deep gratitude to Punit Renjen for his efforts and contributions. His energy level and dedication have been exceptional from the beginning. As we welcome Pekka Ala-Pietilä, I am filled with confidence that SAP’s Supervisory Board is in the most capable hands. His vision and well-measured approach are exactly what SAP needs to safeguard its future and ensure its ongoing success.”

Hasso Plattner thus acknowledges the resistance of SAP's European Supervisory Board members to the US-Indian manager Punit Renjen when he emphasizes his "profound understanding [...] of the complexities of European SE governance. No one at SAP wants an activist chairman of the supervisory board. This is the second time that Professor Plattner has failed to broaden SAP's cultural horizons. After the Indian-born former Chief Technology Officer Vishal Sikka, he has now lost Punit Renjen.