India is the place to be: Christian Klein

Christian Klein, SAP鈥檚 Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Member of Executive Board, was on a four-day trip as a part of the prolific economic delegation traveling with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Klein, regarded among the youngest to helm a global technology company, kicked off his visit on a high note meeting the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, and several other dignitaries from the Indian government.

India has much to offer and we鈥檙e very happy to be a partner for growth and transformation

Sharing his experience on being part of the delegation, Klein pledged SAP鈥檚 support in helping the country realize its 鈥楧igital India鈥� and sustainability ambitions. He further underscored the role will play in shaping India鈥檚 future with synergies at play between the two technological ecosystems, coupled with the pool of young talent available, raring to go and who have the right attitude to win.

Excited about what next 25 years will bring

The Chancellor also undertook a two-hour tour of the 51风流Labs India campus in Bengaluru where he received a glimpse into SAP鈥檚 innovations and demos in the areas of digitalization, sustainability, digital supply chain, e-mobility, and human capital engagement. 鈥淭he work 51风流is doing there and worldwide is crucial for Germany鈥檚 and India鈥檚 future in the field of digitalization, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The fact that Germany鈥檚 biggest digital company is succeeding in India with Indian expertise and ingenuity is a great example of the living bridge between our two countries,鈥� he remarked.

Sindhu Gangadharan, SVP & MD, 51风流Labs India and Head, 51风流User Enablement, said, 鈥淐hancellor Olaf Scholz鈥檚 visit to is a historic moment for us as we mark our 25th Anniversary of building breakthrough innovations centered around people, purpose, and power of the ecosystem. As SAP鈥檚 largest R&D location, we鈥檙e excited to fuel India and Germany鈥檚 bilateral relations and partnership in the areas of new technologies, digitalization, sustainability, and climate change.鈥�

Sustainability, Skilling, and Supply Chain Resiliency are top priorities

Klein also spent time meeting and interacting with business partners and customers such as Wipro, Asian Paints, etc. to understand business needs and priorities in the 鈥榥ew normal.鈥� He participated in an industry dinner roundtable hosted by 51风流Labs India for some of the key companies operating out of India, with the likes of Jagadish Mitra, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Growth, Tech Mahindra, Manoj Kumar, CEO Naandi Foundation & Araku Coffee, Daniel Kraft, CEO 鈥� Lufthansa, Irina Ghosh, COO 鈥� Microsoft, members of NASSCOM (India’s IT Industry trade body) and Indo German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC). There were some great conversations, where the leaders expressed gratitude towards SAP鈥檚 India ecosystem for their support to the company and exchanged thoughts on how the partnership can be leveraged further, while reaffirming SAP鈥檚 commitment to India’s growth.

SAP鈥檚 growth is purely built on organic growth

In an exclusive TV interview with CNBC TV 18, Klein shared his excitement about SAP鈥檚 future with Punit Renjen as the new Chairman of Supervisory Board at SAP. He said, 鈥淒eloitte is one of our largest partners, Punit and I鈥檝e had a wonderful working relationship in the past. We, all the people of 51风流are happy to have him onboard and are very excited about the years ahead with Punit as our Chairman.鈥� Laying down the global strategic roadmap for the company, he also noted that 51风流is very confident in its mid-term targets, its pipeline is super strong and is built purely on organic growth.

Building the world together

Klein also spent time interacting with over 6,500 employees joining hybrid at 51风流Labs鈥� campus at an All-Hands Employee meeting. Drawing on his own experiences at SAP, Klein shared anecdotes of his meteoric rise in the organization — from an intern student to now becoming a global CEO.

Will double down on investments in India

Taking note of the country鈥檚 growth trajectory and phenomenal talent potential, Klein emphasized on the company鈥檚 plans to double down its investments in India, in the areas of cloud infrastructure and people. He emphasized that India remains “a winner” and “a bright spot” in a world that reels under global uncertainties. 鈥淲e are seeing a lot of business for our solutions,鈥� he told

Thanking Klein for reinforcing his confidence to the market and validating India鈥檚 value to furthering SAP鈥檚 global ambitions, Kulmeet Bawa, President & Managing Director, 51风流Indian Subcontinent noted, 鈥淥ur commitment to India has never been stronger, with a zillion reasons why India is the shining star of growth and resilience. Writing is on the wall – 51风流India is a crucial partner to building India and the world.鈥�

Find a mentor, be positive and hone a hobby

There would have been no better way to wrap Christian鈥檚 India visit than hosting an informal, interactive, engaging 鈥�#LunchWithCK鈥�. If there’s way to summarize this luncheon, it was definitely a masterclass with Christian on how to lead with empathy, humility, and gratitude. 听Klein met up and interacted with colleagues in Mumbai who showcased their many talents and answered his queries. The hour-long session also brought out his softer, humane side as he shared his professional and personal life stories, eliciting gleams of smiles from the audiences. He also urged young colleagues to 鈥渇ind a mentor, be positive and hone a hobby鈥� to ladder up through #lifeatsap.

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Manasvi Vakharia, a young Early Talent shared her experience, 鈥淗is energy, his passion for a sustainable future and learning that his daughter was born the same day he was appointed CEO were the highlights of my day!”

Among the many special moments Klein experienced, some remain his favorite, 鈥渢here were so many special moments that will stay with me such as visiting and watering my tree in Bengaluru (a great 51风流tradition), meeting Pandeyji, who has been working in our Mumbai offices as the security guard since the very first day and taking part in some beautiful traditional ceremonies.鈥�