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.

The post SAP APJ’s Scott Russell Succeeds Adaire Fox-Martin appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Robert Enslin, the former Head of SAP Cloud Business Group, left SAP recently after completing his two-year tenure. As reported in InsideSAP, Enslin and SAP have parted ways amicably, with CEO Bill McDermott quoted as saying:

“Let me first congratulate Rob Enslin for everything he’s done in his distinguished SAP career. He’ll be a great champion for SAP in his new opportunity and a lifelong friend to me personally. With Jennifer Morgan and Adaire Fox-Martin moving up, we have two dynamic leaders who will help us take SAP to the next level.

Stepping in to his role is Jennifer Morgan, formerly on the executive board as the President of SAP in the Americas and Asia Pacific Japan. Morgan was elected to the Board in 2017. Working closely with Adaire Fox-Martin as a leader of Global Customer Operations, Morgan was named among Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business and by Forbes among the Most Powerful Women in the World and Technology.

On her appointment, Morgan said:

“I am very honored by this opportunity to work with the outstanding team in SAP’s Cloud Business Group. I have never been stronger in my belief that SAP’s best days are yet to come.”

Adaire Fox-Martin has expanded her role in Morgan’s absence, and is now the sole Head of Global Customer Operations. Fox-Martin now spearheads SAP in Greater China. Bill McDermott has called China SAP’s largest growing market. She was listed in Fortune Magazine’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women International List and has reeived the SAP Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) Distinguished Leader Award.

Of her new role, Fox-Martin said:

“For the entirety of my career at SAP I have focused on our customers and their success. I could not be more energized to continue this exciting journey as president of Global Customer Operations.”

For more information on SAP leadership roles in Asia, visit the SAP Newsroom.

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