Henning Kagermann


Henning Kagermann is a German physicist and businessman. He was the former chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of SAP AG.

Early life and education

Kagermann studied physics in Braunschweig and Munich. He received his doctorate degree in theoretical physics in 1975 from the TU Braunschweig, Germany, and was promoted to professor there in 1980. He taught physics and computer science at TU Braunschweig and University of Mannheim, both in Germany, from 1980-1992.

Career at SAP

Kagermann joined SAP in 1982 and was initially responsible for product development in the areas of cost accounting and controlling. Together with Hasso Plattner, 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, internal audit, and talent management. In the following years, he increased SAP’s share of the market for enterprise resource planning programs with more than one function from 35 per cent to 43 per cent. Also under his leadership, SAP acquired Franco-US software BusinessObjects for 4.8 billion euros. In a 2005 reorganization, Léo Apotheker 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, 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 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 digitization 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.
In 2016, Kagermann was appointed by Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Alexander Dobrindt to serve on the German government’s Ethics Commission on Autonomous Driving.

Other actvities

Corporate boards

Kagermann holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Magdeburg.