SAP Revamps Sales Operations After U.S. License Revenues Disappoint

By Agence France-Presse SAP AG, the Walldorf, Germany-based maker of e-business software, said on May 23 it was reorganizing its global sales network after its licensing business in the United States proved disappointing in the first few months of this year. SAP said it was creating a new position, president of global field operations, who would report directly to the group's Co-chairman and CEO Henning Kagermann. The current head of SAP's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division, Leo Apotheker, was being appointed to the position. Apotheker, who joined SAP 14 years ago, would also be temporarily in charge of the group's U.S. operations, as Wolfgang Kemna, president and CEO of SAP America Inc., moves to another position -- executive vice president, Global Initiatives. The aim of the revamp was to "realign our worldwide sales force around the needs of global customers for consistent processes and seamless operations across geographies," SAP explained. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2002