SAP has today announced the appointment of John Ruthven as President and Managing Director for SAP Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), effective immediately.
As the leader of the SAP A/NZ business, Ruthven is responsible for all customer operations across the two countries, helping organisations of all sizes and across 25 industries to simplify their operations and equip for the increasingly digital and global economy.
Ruthven succeeds Andrew Barkla, who after delivering nearly three years of growth will depart SAP to take on a new leadership role outside the industry.
In the interim, Barkla will continue to advise the SAP Australia and New Zealand business during a transition period to ensure a seamless experience for customers and partners.
With his appointment, Ruthven will also join the SAP APJ Senior Executive Team, reporting to regional President Adaire Fox-Martin.
“We have seen spectacular growth in Australia and New Zealand over the past year,” Fox-Martin says.
“This has been fuelled by local organisations’ desire to innovate and push forward as global leaders in their industry through digital transformation, as well as by a local SAP team with a relentless focus on the customer.
“We thank Andrew Barkla for his leadership in this transformative phase for SAP and look forward to John’s proven ability to scale business outcomes for our customers.”
Ruthven joined SAP in January 2014 as the Regional Lead for Cloud and Line of Business Solutions across the SAP Asia Pacific Japan region, transitioning to Chief Operating Officer for SAP A/NZ in August 2014, where he led SAP’s local Presales, Industry Value Engineering and Sales Operations teams.
Ruthven has more than 20 years’ experience in the IT industry, in local, regional and global functions across management and sales operations, including Senior Vice President of International Sales at Zuora Inc. and General Manager of Emerging Markets at CA Technologies.
“Organisations in Australia and New Zealand understand they need to transform digitally if they are to continue to compete and get on the right side of disruption,” Ruthven says.
“With our customers and partners, we are enjoying some of the richest collaboration in the market and delivering outcomes that help our customers run better and run simple in the digital age.
“It is a very exciting time to be with SAP.”
