SAP CEO steps down

Vendor appoints two co-CEOs

SAP chief exec Bill McDermott is stepping down from his role immediately, with the vendor appointing two co-CEOs to succeed him.

McDermott joined SAP in 2002 and has been at the helm of the company since 2010.

He will remain with the business until the end of the year in an advisory capacity to support new bosses Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein.

"Every CEO dreams of being able to transition a company to its next generation from a position of significant strength," McDermott said.

"When you look at where we were and where we are, I simply could not be prouder of what this company has achieved over the past decade. I am thankful for the opportunity to lead one of the world's finest companies.

"Now is the moment for everyone to begin an exciting new chapter, and I am confident that Jennifer and Christian will do an outstanding job.

To every customer, partner, shareholder and colleague who invested their trust in SAP, I can only relay my heartfelt gratitude and enduring respect."

SAP also announced Q3 numbers, with sales for the period ending 30 September climbing 13 per cent year on year to $6.7bn (£5.42bn).

The vendor also pointed towards its growing presence in the cloud, with cloud revenue rising 37 per cent to $1.8bn.

SAP praised McDermott's contribution in helping it transition to a cloud-focused model.

Hasso Plattner, chairman of the supervisory board of SAP, said: "Bill made invaluable contributions to this company and he was a main driver of SAP's transition to the cloud, which will fuel our growth for many years to come.

"We thank him for everything he has done for SAP. We also congratulate Jennifer and Christian for this opportunity to build on the strong foundation we have for the future of SAP.

"Bill and I made the decision over a year ago to expand Jennifer and Christian's roles as part of a long-term process to develop them as our next generation of leaders. We are confident in their vision and capabilities as we take SAP to its next phase of growth and innovation."