SAP shakes up US management

NEWS One month after reporting dismal first quarter sales in the US, SAP has announced a massive shake up of its global management team. SAP stated that Leo Apotheker, head of business in EMEA, would become head of global sales and temporary CEO of its US division, replacing Wolfgang Kemna. Kemna will now become VP of SAP's new Global Initiatives division which will focus on growing customer and supply chain manufacturing software products. Nigel Montgomery, director at research firm AMR, said: "Apotheker is a very strong guy who understands corporate culture but he needs to recognise that the US market is very different from Europe. If he takes European corporate culture over there he will fail." Montgomery added: "Kemna's reposition has got to be a demotion. He's been hived off to something secondary."