SAP and Singapore have a long history of working together, first established by the operations and partnership that came about in the past years. This relationship continues to this day, with investments and participation in each other’s infrastructure. The two constantly collaborate to upskill Singapore’s many diverse talent bases, as well as engaging with government agencies and customers alike in order to ensure the best experience for all parties involved.

Furthermore, Singapore and SAP are at the forefront in terms of establishing standards for data privacy and sovereignty, which have been made all the more relevant in light of recent developments globally. They also work on shaping standards for cloud adoption and facilitate a more digitally inclusive and sustainable world. 

Last week, SAP’s office in the ASEAN country welcomed Sabine Bendiek, the Global Chief People & Operating Officer, Labor Relations Director & Member of the Executive Board at SAP. As part of her role, Bendiek is responsible for bringing together people agenda, systems, and processes in a way that supports SAP’s transformation to the cloud by accelerating innovation for both SAP itself and its customers. She works closely with the different teams across the company to achieve this goal.

Engaging with the SAP Chief People & Operating Officer

An engagement with Bendiek allowed SAP employees to observe her leadership style and how she fosters an inclusive environment that values diversity. In a LinkedIn post shared by Akshita Shetty, Vice President of Human Resources at SAP SEA, Bendiek shared her thoughts on a variety of topics including talent strategy, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and sustainability.

“Singapore is a melting pot of all cultures and along with Frances-Marie Botha, I had the privilege to host her for an intimate HR session. She got a glimpse of the diverse culture, cuisines in Singapore and also see the different teams that collectively work together to make magic happen for our employees,” Shetty added.

On the other hand, Bendiek mentioned that the technology behind SAP is amazing, and the company’s client feedback suggests that SAP will be the driving force behind the world’s most important enterprises in the future.

“In the end, it all comes back to people and our connections to each other as human beings. I was delightfully reminded of how true this is during my visit to Singapore this week,” she remarked.

Meeting with the Minister for Communications and Information

In a separate meeting, Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo SAP Executive Board Member Bendiek, and representatives from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) discussed topics and areas related to digital talent and skills, cloud computing, data privacy and cyber security. Thrilled to welcome Bendiek into Singapore office recently, Verena Siow, President and Managing Director of Southeast Asia at SAP, also said in a LinkedIn post:

“It was an honor to meet with Minister Josephine Teo and her colleagues at the Ministry of Communications and Information and Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) as well, where we had an invigorating discussion on talent development, cloud transformation and digital economy towards a more sustainable future together in ASEAN!”

It can be noted that in March of this year, the Singapore EDB made a commitment to ensuring the continued success of the newest SAP Labs Singapore, which is expected to elevate the digital capabilities of local IT professionals. In addition to accelerating digital supply chain transformation, it is also anticipated that SAP Labs Singapore will strengthen intelligent business networks, and develop sustainability solutions, drive innovation on intelligent technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

Together with other employees, SAP Singapore MD Eileen Chua expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to give Bendiek a peek into the various facets of the evolving city-state and the diverse communities that contribute to Singapore, SAP Asia, and SAP Labs Singapore being such “a great place to live and work.”

The post SAP People & Operating Officer Sabine Bendiek Visits SEA Office appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

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.