Officially taking on the new role on August 1, Dr. Huang Chenhong has recently been appointed as President of SAP Greater China. Bringing with him an almost three-decade in-depth experience in the sector, Huang is anticipated to help grow SAP’s business and accelerate innovation in China.
This year has so far seen a huge development in SAP’s cloud business as well as a revamping of the company’s organisational structure. Some of these major role changes were the appointment of Paul Marriott as President of SAP Asia-Pacific Japan in February and the promotion of Atul Tuli as Managing Director of SAP Indochina in March.
This July, SAP Greater China has announced its new President Dr. Huang Chenhong. Aside from this role, Huang has also been appointed as SAP Global Executive Vice President and will oversee the operations including budgeting, forecasting, strategic customer relations, talent and partner development, sales, marketing, and government affairs. Previously serving as the Chairman and President of Dell Technologies Greater China since 2014, Huang was a firm advocate of the “in China, for China” strategy. Throughout his nearly 7-year tenure at Dell, he has planned several key strategic projects such as industry automation, deployment of new market development strategies, product and solution localisation, and ecosystem development.
In addition, Huang formerly worked for Schneider Electric as the President of the Greater China Region of American Power Conversion Corporation (APC) and at Tellabs Communications with the same role. Furthermore, he spent 17 years with Nortel Networks, where he was in charge of US and Chinese business operations. Currently, Huang serves as the Vice President of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment. He is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
Leading SAP Greater China’s Business
Meanwhile, Scott Russell, Member of the SAP Executive Board and Head of Global Customer Success, believes SAP’s business will grow further under the leadership of Huang as the company has already established a “solid foundation” in Greater China. He stressed:
“At the same time, we can also create more opportunities for customers, partners, and employees.”
Russell has a good understanding of the Chinese market and the situation of SAP in China, having previously worked as the President of SAP APJ. In an interview with the Chinese media last month, Russell said that SAP has 550 partners in the country that support local customers, adding that they will play a critical role in the implementation of RISE with SAP.
“They will provide customers with various tools and technologies so that customers can seize the business opportunities brought by RISE with SAP. I believe that RISE with SAP has more opportunities for eco-enterprise partners,” he stated.
In the recently concluded 2021 SAP Greater China Partner Summit held in Yunnan, Jens Amail, Acting Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operations Officer at SAP Greater China, has emphasised that partners are the “core and soul” of SAP’s intelligent enterprise vision. SAP executives, experts, consultants, and trusted partners gathered at the summit to explore how various industries can gain insights into the current trends, seize business opportunities, explore diverse ecological collaboration models, and develop a new digital future with partners and customers.
Accelerating Innovation in China
Greater China has always been a key global market for SAP. According to the company’s Executive Board, it will continue to pursue strategic investment and development plans in the region. Under the leadership of former President Mark Gibbs, Greater China has become independent and has grown into one of SAP’s fastest-growing regions. Gibbs will continue to assist Huang in a smooth transition for the SAP leadership as a consultant until the end of September 2021.
Commenting on his appointment, 28-year industry veteran Huang expressed his excitement about furthering the work of localisation and innovation in China. He said:
“There is no doubt that now is the peak of the development of SAP Greater China. I look forward to working closely with the SAP team to help customers and partners succeed in the rapid process of moving towards the cloud future.”