Dusseldorf Hasso Plattner took his time when looking for a successor as chief controller at SAP. For years, investors have been demanding a binding statement as to who will chair the supervisory board of the Dax group – the co-founder, who has been at the helm of the software manufacturer in various roles since 1972, is now 79 years old.
Late on Wednesday evening, the software manufacturer finally presented a candidate: Punit Renjen, head of the auditing and consulting firm Deloitte until the end of 2022, is initially to stand for election by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in May. After a one-year transition phase, he will then take over the leadership of the committee.
The personnel situation, organized at short notice and quite with luck, is a coup: SAP has gained a top manager of international stature. Renjen brought Deloitte “incredibly forward”, Plattner praised his designated successor in an interview with the Handelsblatt. “It’s difficult to find a candidate with such reputation and knowledge of the market.”
Where the boisterous German technology pioneer is followed by a smart Indian-American consultant, a lot is likely to change, both in content and style. “Punit Renjen is an absolute stroke of luck for SAP with his know-how and his reputation,” says an insider who has seen him for a long time as head of Deloitte. “But the group has to be prepared for the fact that it will have an extremely demanding chief supervisor.”
It takes “hard work, passion and a few lucky coincidences” to rise in a company, as Renjen once put it. This is exactly what can be found in his life path, which led him from Rohtak in northern India to international top management.
From a scholarship in the USA to a senior position at Deloitte
He seized the big opportunity in 1984, at the age of 23: A scholarship enabled him to study at a private university in Salem, Oregon. The student from India sat in the front row with a cassette recorder to record the lectures – also to be able to understand the professors’ American English properly afterwards.
Talent and diligence paid off, Renjen landed a job at Deloitte. It was the beginning of an impressive career during which he led several business units. In 2015 he finally took over the management of the entire company. Under his aegis, sales rose by a good 70 percent to $59 billion. Today, Deloitte is number one among the “Big Four” of large consulting firms, ahead of PwC, KPMG and EY.
Punit Renjen has a lot that SAP can help with. This is how he developed an eye for the big picture. The manager understands the global challenges, for example digitization – at Deloitte he geared the consulting business strongly to this.
He is also well versed internationally. At Deloitte he was considered one of the few Americans who understood Europe well and also knew the realities in Asia – especially in his native India. In view of the SAP board of directors, which is predominantly German and white, this could help the software company.
Renjen already worked closely with SAP at Deloitte
What should make the familiarization easier: The manager knows SAP. Deloitte is the software manufacturer’s largest partner, the consulting firm implements products for customers, sometimes even helping to develop them – for example, there is close cooperation on sustainability software. Renjen has personally strengthened the close relationship between the two companies, as can be heard in the industry.
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However, there are some challenges. So far, the Indian-American manager has had little knowledge of the German economic model with special features such as co-determination. And when Plattner retires, there will be no technology visionary on the board.
The new chairman is likely to react as he learned as a consultant: listen to understand the problem and then seek a solution.
More: SAP chief supervisor Plattner on his successor – and whether he now visits his own museums more often