SAP Southeast Asia’s leadership team has received a boost with the appointment of two new managing directors for Vietnam and Indochina.
Public sector expert Josephine Galla has been appointed managing director of SAP Vietnam, with a particular mandate to assist the Vietnam government in leveraging technology as a catalyst for economic growth.
Galla has more than a decade’s experience in the technology sector working across public services, mining and utilities. Most recently, she led a team of industry value advisors across South East ASiaa and worked as part of SAP China’s Growth Plan as a global account director, managing some of the largest mining and utilise customers.
Galla will report to Claus Andresen, president and managing director of SAP Southeast Asia.
“With the Vietnam government gearing up all sectors towards Industry 4.0, Vietname continues to be one of the most vibrant and dynamic economies in the region. SAP’s deep industry expertise in public and private sectors puts us in a unique position to use intelligent technologies to help the country compete in the digital economy. We remain bullish in growing SAP Vietnam and I believe Josephin has the passion to propel our growth ambition,” Andresen said.
“SAP Vietnam opened its doors to business 10 years ago, and during these 10 years of operations, we continue to serve over 450 customers in nine industries. With 70 per cent of our customers being SMEs, this just shows that SAP is the technology of choice whatever the size of business. We remain focused to work side by side with every business in Vietnam in their digital transformation journey.”
Galla said, “Now is an exciting time to be in Vietnam where both public and private sectors are united in the mandate to become an industrialized nation by 2020, build smart cities and drive sustainable development, and empower SMEs for Industry 4.0. Our vision in SAP is to power Digital Vietnam where we have highly innovative solutions to help the government’s aim to improve government services, equip Vietnamese youth with digital skills to be future-ready, and the right Design Thinking approach to co-innovate with our stakeholders. This kind of transformative vision energises me, and I look forward to working with the local team to make this happen.”
Verona Siow has also been appointed as managing director of SAP Indochina, taking responsibility for scaling the business across Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Bhutan and Maldives.
Siow has been with SAP for almost seven years, most recently as managing director of strategic conglomerates for SAP Southeast Asia. In this role, she drove the go-to-market strategies and business for the conglomerates across the region, building sustainable relationships, executive-level partnerships and innovation roadmaps with these lighthouse customers, many of which are family-owned.
Siow will report to Andresen, who commented on the appointment: “The Indochina region is a highly diverse yet major economic performer with an openness towards modernising industries and innovation. Thailand 4.0, for example, is leading the charge in creating a value-based economy driven by technology, innovation and creativity. This kind of openness is what makes us at SAP completely adamant in helping these countries thrive in the digital economy.”
“The Indochina region is a vast, diverse and prosperous economic growth area. Almost every industry from agriculture to retail are fertile prospects,” said Siow. “With Thailand 4.0’s welcoming stance towards technology driving their economy, I am thrilled to get the ground running on how SAP can support Thailand’s innovation goals. At the same time, all the rest of the countries in Indochina are coming into their own and I believe technology can even help these countries leapfrog to progress and be at par with the growth levels in Southeast Asia. Our purpose at SAP resonates well in helping these countries run better and improve the lives of their citizens.”
