SAP Executive Board member Adaire Fox-Martin had held several roles in SAP Asia Pacific Japan, including Vice President Public Sector, Chief Operating Officer, and President, prior to becoming part of the Executive Board.
SAP has announced the official appointment of SAP Asia Pacific Japan President Scott Russell as a new member of the Executive Board effective February 2021. Appointed by the Supervisory Board, Russell succeeds SAP’s Customer Success lead Adaire Fox-Martin who will depart the software company by end of the month.
Further to the major announcement, Microsoft alum Julia White will also be joining SAP in a new Executive Board role as Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer. She had led the product marketing for Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Office 365 during the transition to the cloud.
Welcoming the two new Executive Board members, SAP SE Chairman of the Supervisory Board Professor Hasso Plattner said:
“We are very pleased to have both Julia and Scott join the Executive Board to help continue SAP’s strategic direction.”
Professor Plattner also expressed his gratitude to Fox-Martin’s exemplary and long-standing contribution to the German enterprise.
SAP CEO Christian Klein shared his enthusiasm in having Russell and White as new members of the SAP Executive Board. With much respect and commendation to the two exceptional leaders, Klein said:
“Julia and Scott bring outstanding customer empathy coupled with strong experience in transformation and innovation. This sets us up perfectly for delivering on our strategic commitment to maximise customer success, foster co-innovation, and amplify stakeholder value. The Executive Board and I welcome Julia and Scott. “
Following the footsteps of Adaire Fox-Martin
Fox-Martin and Russell’s milestones in SAP seem like history repeating itself. Both have been Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and President of SAP APJ overseeing the software giant’s business in the region, driving productivity improvements, revenue, and profitability.
Before Fox-Martin’s appointment in the Executive Board in 2017, Russell became Fox–Martin’s successor in the APJ leadership as President responsible for growing the SAP business across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia back then. The new Australian Executive Board member has taken SAP APJ under his leadership for three years, catapulting SAP’s business growth and expansion in the region. Today, APJ is one of SAP’s fastest-growing cloud markets across the globe.
In the same vein, Russell will be leading the Customer Success unit, which was appointed to Fox-Martin last year when SAP underwent a major leadership and organisational change geared towards more customer-centric operations and processes. The company revamps came after long-term SAP leader Bill McDermott’s departure.
“I am honored and would like to thank the Supervisory Board for putting trust in me,” said Russell.
“With our industry-leading team, I will build on the great foundation laid by Adaire, who has my deepest respect for the leadership and foresight she demonstrated during our many years of close collaboration. Our future is bright, driving and accelerating the strategic digital transformation of our customers around the world,” he added.
Russell brings to the SAP Executive Board and in the Customer Success unit over 20 years of experience in sales, management, consulting, and technology from his SAP and IBM stint.
