Henning Kagermann (born 12 July 1947) is a German

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

and businessman. He was the former chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

Early life and education

Born in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, Kagermann studied

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

in Braunschweig and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. He received his doctorate degree in

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

in 1975 from the

TU Braunschweig The Technische Universität Braunschweig (unofficially University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology), commonly referred to as TU Braunschweig, is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. ...

and was promoted to professor there in 1980. He taught physics and computer science at TU Braunschweig and

University of Mannheim The University of Mannheim (German: ''Universität Mannheim''), abbreviated UMA, is a public research university in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1967, the university has its origins in the ''Palatine Academy of Sciences'', ...

from 1980 to 1992.

Career at SAP

Kagermann joined

in 1982 and was initially responsible for product development in the areas of

cost accounting Cost accounting is defined as "a systematic set of procedures for recording and reporting measurements of the cost of manufacturing goods and performing services in the aggregate and in detail. It includes methods for recognizing, classifying, al ...

and controlling. Together with

Hasso Plattner Hasso Plattner (born 21 January 1944) is a German businessman. A co-founder of SAP SE software company, he has been chairman of the supervisory board of SAP SE since May 2003. As of August 2020, ''Forbes'' reported that he possessed a net worth o ...

, co-founder of SAP, he was co-chairman of the SAP Executive Board and CEO from 1998 to 2003. During that period, his responsibilities included sales, global customer relations, strategic development projects and consulting. Following Plattner's election as chairman of the SAP Supervisory Board in May 2003, Kagermann became sole chairman of the SAP Executive Board and CEO. At the time, he had overall responsibility for SAP's strategy, business development and also oversaw the areas of global communications, global

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

, internal audit and talent management. In the following years, he increased SAP's share of the market for

enterprise resource planning Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the integrated management of main business processes, often in real time and mediated by software and technology. ERP is usually referred to as a category of Business management tools, business management ...

(ERP) programs with more than one function from 35% to 43%. Also under his leadership, SAP acquired Franco-US software BusinessObjects for €4.8 billion. In a 2005 reorganisation,

Léo Apotheker Léo Apotheker (born 18 September 1953) is a German business executive. He served briefly as the chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard from November 2010 until his dismissal in September 2011. He also served as co-chief executive officer o ...

assumed additional responsibility for marketing from Kagermann, who instead focused on strategy. In 2007, Kagermann's contract was extended to 2009. Shortly after, he overhauled the company's management again after the surprise resignation of

Shai Agassi Shai Agassi ( he, שי אגסי, born April 19, 1968) is an Israeli entrepreneur. He is the founder and former CEO of Better Place, which had developed a model and infrastructure for employing electric cars as an alternative to fossil fuel tec ...

, its top software executive. For several months in 2008, he led the company alongside Apotheker instead. Kagermann retired in May 2009, when his term expired after several extensions.

Political activities

During and after his time at SAP, Kagermann became a close adviser to Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...

on technology. From May 2010, he chaired the German National Platform for Electric Mobility. Later that year, Merkel appointed Kagermann to chair a working group on innovation policy. In 2014, he accompanied Merkel on an official visit to China. In June 2009, Kagermann assumed the office of the president of acatech – German Academy of Science and Engineering. He is also known as one of the main proponents of the concept of

Industry 4.0 The Fourth Industrial Revolution, 4IR, or Industry 4.0, conceptualizes rapid change to technology, industries, and societal patterns and processes in the 21st century due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. The term has bee ...

, which applies increased digitisation and the Internet of Things and Services to industrial production. In 2012, a working group led by Kagerman proposed the idea to the

Federal Government of Germany The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's org ...

. In 2016, Kagermann was appointed by Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

Alexander Dobrindt Alexander Dobrindt (born 7 June 1970) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU). Between 2013 and 2017, he served as Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in the government of Chancellor Angela Mer ...

to serve on the German government's Ethics Commission on Autonomous Driving.

Other activities

Corporate boards

* Mambu, Non-Executive Member of the Board of Directors (since 2018) *

KUKA KUKA is a German manufacturer of industrial robots and systems for factory automation. It has been predominantly owned by the Chinese company Midea Group since 2016. The KUKA Robotics Corporation has 25 subsidiaries, mostly sales and servic ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2017) *

WIPRO Wipro Limited (formerly, Western India Palm Refined Oils Limited) is an Indian multinational corporation that provides information technology, consulting and business process services. Thierry Delaporte is serving as CEO and managing director ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2009) *

Deutsche Post The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. T ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (2009–2019) *

Munich Re Munich Re Group or Munich Reinsurance Company (german: Münchener Rück; Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft) is a German multinational insurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world's leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Muni ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (-2019) *

Deutsche Bank AG Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stoc ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (2000–2018) *

Haniel Haniel ( he, חַנִּיאֵל, ''Ḥannīʾēl'', "God is my grace"; cop, ⲁⲛⲁⲛⲓⲏⲗ ''Ananiēl''; ar, عنيائيل, '), also known as Hananel, Anael, Hanael or Aniel, is an angel in Jewish lore and angelology, and is often i ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (2012–2016) * BMW, Member of the Supervisory Board (2010–2015) *

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (2007–2014)

Non-profit organisations

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...

Stiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees *

Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings are annual scientific conferences held in Lindau, Bavaria, Germany, since 1951. Their aim is to bring together Nobel laureates and young scientists to foster scientific exchange between different generations, ...

, Member of the Honorary Senate *

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees *

Max Planck Institute for Informatics The Max Planck Institute for Informatics (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik'', abbreviated ''MPI-INF'' or ''MPII'') is a research institute in computer science with a focus on algorithms and their applications in a broad sense. It hosts ...

(MPI-INF), Member of the Board of Trustees *

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...

, Member of the SenateSenate, as of April 6, 2020

Recognition

Kagermann holds an honorary doctorate from the

University of Magdeburg The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg () (''OvGU'') was founded in 1993, making it one of the youngest universities in Germany. The university is located in Magdeburg, the Capital city of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 13.000 students in nine ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kagermann, Henning 1947 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Mannheim German chief executives German corporate directors Businesspeople from Braunschweig Science teachers SAP SE people Technical University of Braunschweig alumni Academic staff of the Technical University of Braunschweig Nokia people Directors of BMW German chairpersons of corporations Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering