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 cau ...

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

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in the 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 s ...

Early life and education

Born in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

, Kagermann studied

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

in Braunschweig and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. 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 List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

in 1975 from the

TU Braunschweig TU Braunschweig (, unofficially ''University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology'') is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. It was founded in 1745 as Collegium Carolinum and is a membe ...

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 university, public research university in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1967, the university has its origins in the ''Palatine Aca ...

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 by the Institute of Management Accountants 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 includ ...

and controlling. Together with

Hasso Plattner Hasso Plattner (born 21 January 1944) is a German businessman who is the co-founder of SAP SE software company. From 2003 to 2024, he served as the chairman of the company's supervisory board. As of August 2020, ''Forbes'' reported that he posses ...

, 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, co ...

, 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 software—typically a suit ...

(ERP) programs with more than one function from 35% to 43%. Also under his leadership, SAP acquired Franco-US software

BusinessObjects Business Objects (BO, BOBJ, or BObjects) was an enterprise software company, specializing in business intelligence (BI). Business Objects was acquired in 2007 by German company SAP AG. The company claimed more than 46,000 customers in its final e ...

for €4.8 billion. In a 2005 reorganisation,

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

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 (; born April 19, 1968) is an Israeli entrepreneur known for his involvement in the electric vehicle industry. He is the founder and former CEO of Better Place, which had developed a model and infrastructure for employing electric ...

, 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 retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

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, 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 Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief Executive (government), executive body of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the Federal level (Germany), federal level. It consists of the Chancellor ...

. 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 in Bavaria (CSU) who has been serving as the Federal Minister of the Interior in the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz since 2025. From 2017 to ...

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 factory automation systems. In 2016, the company was acquired by the Chinese appliance manufacturer Midea Group. It has 25 subsidiaries in countries including the United States, the Eur ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2017) *

WIPRO Wipro Limited () is an Indian multinational technology company based in Bengaluru. It provides information technology, consulting and business process services. It is one of India's Big Six IT services companies. Wipro's services include cloud ...

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

Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...

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

Munich Re Munich Re Group or Munich Reinsurance Company () is a German Multinational corporation, multinational insurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is the world's largest reinsurance, reinsurer. ERGO Insurance Group, ERGO, a subsidiary of Munich ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (-2019) *

Deutsche Bank AG Deutsche Bank AG (, ) 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 Stock Exchange. Deutsche Bank was founded in ...

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

Haniel Haniel (, ''Ḥannīʾēl'', "God is my grace"; ''Ananiēl''; , '), also known as Hananel, Anael, Hanael or Aniel, is an angel in Jewish lore and angelology, and he is often included in lists as being one of the seven archangels. Haniel is ge ...

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

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

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

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

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

Non-profit organisations

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...

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; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

, 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 host ...

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

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

, 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 () (Short: ''OVGU'') is a public research university founded in 1993 and is located in Magdeburg, the Capital city of Saxony-Anhalt. The university has about 13,000 students in nine faculties. The uni ...

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 TU Braunschweig alumni Academic staff of TU 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