Thursday, 22 November 2007

SAP Appoints Ex-Oracle Senior VP as new President and CEO for North Asia

SAP Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) has appointed Mark Gibbs as its President and CEO for its North Asian operations. Gibbs--who joins SAP from Oracle where he was senior vice president of...

SAP Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) has appointed Mark Gibbs as its President and CEO for its North Asian operations.

Gibbs--who joins SAP from Oracle where he was senior vice president of applications for Oracle’s Asia Pacific Division--and who will be taking over Klaus Zimmer, will be responsible for all aspects of SAP’s operations in North Asia, including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.

He will be reporting directly to Geraldine McBride, SAP Asia Pacific Japan’s President and CEO.

“Mark’s decision to join SAP is further evidence of our ability to attract world-class talent, as we drive towards our vision of dramatically increasing market penetration throughout the Asia Pacific Japan region by 2010,” said Geraldine McBride, President and CEO, SAP Asia Pacific Japan.

“SAP has the industry’s most compelling vision for customers and I’m excited Mark understands our potential in the region and has agreed to join.”

According to a statement released Monday, Gibbs was in Oracle for some 16 years and was responsible for all aspects of Oracle’s applications business across Asia Pacific, including sales, marketing and field operations. Prior to his current applications role, Gibbs was in charge of Oracle’s Financial Services Industry group in Asia Pacific and served as the chair of Oracle’s Global FSI Board. Before joining Oracle, Gibbs was financial controller at Unilever Corporation in London.

“North Asia is already driving a great deal of the region’s growth, but there is still much more we can contribute…I am confident we can continue to significantly enhance our market leadership position in North Asia,” said Gibbs.

SAP recently announced its third quarter financial performance for the APJ region with growth at double-digit levels across the region, driven by strong adoption of SAP business software.