This morning, SAP announced that it has picked former King of Deloitte Punit Renjen as designated supervisory board chairman. You’ll remember he was liberated from Deloitte last fall after many years and many billions of dollars together with the firm. Deloitte US CEO Joe Ucuzoglu succeeded Renjen as Deloitte Global CEO at that time and still holds that position today (we’d hope so, it was only a few months ago that he got the job).
Anyway, SAP. That’s the new gig. Reuters:
SAP software company (SAPG.DE) has named former Deloitte CEO Punit Renjen as designated supervisory board chairman to succeed co-founder Hasso Plattner, whose term will expire in May 2024 after two decades.
SAP’s board nominated 61 year-old Renjen, CEO of Deloitte from 2015 until the end of 2022, to stand for election as a new member of SAP’s supervisory board at its annual general meeting on May 11, adding this would trigger the handover process.
“With extensive experience as a highly successful CEO of one of the world’s largest consulting firms, Punit brings valuable insights and expertise to the board,” Plattner said in a statement late on Wednesday.
Throughout his reign we heard only complimentary things about Punit Renjen, and that’s saying a lot considering Going Concern is a depository for the entire profession’s complaining and petty back-biting. He has an incredible backstory as an immigrant and hard-working student from India who arrived in the United States with a two pairs of tight jeans (it was the 80s) and a couple bucks. Through a series of choices and a small bit of fate, the young Renjen ended up on Deloitte’s radar while studying at Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management where he sat in the front of the class with a tape recorder because he struggled a bit to understand an American accent.
“While I was in school, a local magazine picked the 10 best students, and they picked me and profiled me in the magazine,” Renjen remembered in an interview last year. That magazine was picked up by Deloitte (Touche Ross) partner on a flight, who scanned Renjen’s profile and then asked an assistant to call him in for an interview.
Touche Ross merged with Deloitte Haskins & Sells a few years later and the rest is history.
“His deep understanding of our customers’ needs, and the broader industry make him an ideal candidate for Chairman of the Supervisory Board from 2024 onwards,” said Plattner.
SAP names ex-Deloitte CEO as chairman designate to succeed co-founder [Reuters]
