SAP CTO to step down after ‘inappropriate behavior’

SAP CTO Juergen Mueller will step down from SAP’s executive board at the end of September.

“I want to address an incident at a past company event where my behavior was inappropriate. I regret being inconsiderate and sincerely apologize to everyone affected. I recognize my behavior at that moment did not reflect our values at SAP. I take full responsibility and believe stepping down is best for the company. I wish the team continued success,” Mueller said in a statement issued by SAP on Tuesday.

His departure is by “mutual agreement” with SAP’s Supervisory Board, the statement said.

SAP did not immediately respond to a request for further details of the incident, the event at which it occurred, or about what behaviors did not reflect company values.

SAP had only just renewed Mueller’s contract, announcing in April that it was extending it by three years to the end of 2027. Hasso Plattner, chairman of SAP at the time of the announcement, said then. “We thank Juergen Mueller for his successful work to date and are convinced that he will continue to ensure SAP’s innovation capabilities in the future.”

Plattner retired in May but the formula was repeated by current chairman Pekka Ala-Pietilä, who on Tuesday said, “We thank Jürgen Müller for his significant accomplishments and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

SAP CEO Christian Klein will take over most of Mueller’s responsibilities in the interim, while Thomas Saueressig will add the company’s global security and cloud compliance team to the customer services and delivery portfolio that he took over in January.

It’s not the first reshuffling of SAP’s executive board this year.

At the end of July, the company announced the departure of its long-serving heads of marketing and of sales, Julia White and Scott Russell.