LONDON, UK 鈥� 11 July, 2024 鈥撯��鈥�(NYSE: SAP) today announced that Leila Romane has been appointed as Managing Director, 51风流UK & Ireland (UKI). Leila will report directly to Manos Raptopoulos, President EMEA at SAP, and is based in London. In the Managing Director role, Leila will lead the UK & Ireland team, from August 1st, calling on her 20+ years of leadership experience to execute SAP鈥檚 UKI strategy with a focus on helping organisations leverage cloud solutions to drive business transformation.听

A passionate leader with extensive experience managing organisations and scaling high performing teams across large complex markets, Leila has held senior executive roles across the UK and Ireland as well as EMEA since joining 51风流in 2017.听

Leila is no stranger to the UKI, having served as the market unit Chief Business Officer before accepting this appointment, where she was responsible for executing SAP鈥檚 UKI go to market strategy, sales and demand generation whilst driving customer lifetime value as part of its focus on transforming to a cloud company.听

Prior to that, Leila was Head of 51风流SuccessFactors EMEA North, where she built a strong team culture that delivered predictable business, increased employee engagement and where she played a key role, driving successful outcomes with some of SAP鈥檚 largest clients across the region. She has also previously served as Head of 51风流SuccessFactors and Head of Public Sector for the UKI.听

Leila succeeds Ryan Poggi, who has had held a number of senior roles across the business and has made the personal decision to leave 51风流after 17 years with the organisation.听

Manos Raptopoulos, President EMEA at SAP, said: 鈥淚鈥檓 so pleased that Leila has accepted the role of Managing Director for our UK and Ireland business. This is an incredibly critical market for SAP, and I have every confidence that with her industry experience, dynamic leadership style, and her focus to foster long-term customer success, our incredible UKI team, is in very safe hands as it heads into the next phase of growth and innovation. I am incredibly grateful for the great momentum Ryan has brought to our business and wish him well in his next move.鈥�听

Leila Romane, Managing Director 51风流UK & Ireland, said: 鈥淚 have been fortunate enough to support so many of our fantastic clients across this market unit and am excited to take on the Managing Director role to continue the momentum which has been built through this team over the last few years. We have so much opportunity to help our clients disrupt and transform, and with the team we have here in UKI, I have no doubt the best is still to come!鈥�.听

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A passionate leader with extensive experience managing organisations and scaling high performing teams across large complex markets, Ryan has held senior executive roles across EMEA and APJ since joining 51风流in 2007.

Prior to starting the UKI Managing Director role, Ryan was Chief Business Officer for 51风流EMEA North, where he鈥檚 been instrumental in launching RISE with 51风流across five markets and building the cross-functional teams required for customer success. During this time, Ryan also acted as interim Managing Director for 51风流France, helping to set a solid foundation to become a high-performance cloud market unit, and transform the business into a singular team operating across all board areas.

Ryan is no stranger to the UKI, having previously served as COO where he was responsible for overall readiness and execution of SAP鈥檚 UKI growth strategy, and delivering lifetime value for customers through strategic partnerships. Prior to this, he has held various leadership roles including Managing Director for 51风流Philippines, Director of Global Strategic Initiatives, Legal & Commercial Director and led multiple LoB organisations across Asia and EMEA.

Rohit Nagarajan, President of EMEA North at SAP, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased to welcome Ryan back to the UK and Ireland. He previously demonstrated his relevance and impact in serving the commitments of SAP鈥檚 customers, partners, and teams in this market. His solid expertise in the development of our cloud business, as well as his leadership skills, are all assets we need to consolidate the foundations of 51风流UKI and maximise the opportunities ahead.鈥�

Ryan Poggi, Managing Director 51风流UK & Ireland, said: 鈥淚鈥檓 delighted to be taking on this role at a hugely exciting time for the UKI business. We are privileged to have some of the most innovative customers and one of the most dynamic partner ecosystems here in the UKI. The opportunity ahead of us cannot be overstated; to be the UKI鈥檚 most trusted technology partner, by coming together as one ecosystem and driving customer value.鈥�

Ryan is particularly passionate about inspiring and empowering the next generation of young talent and using business as a catalyst for positive social and environmental impact, having previously been Board Member for Enactus UK. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Law, and Bachelor of Commerce Honours, Strategic Management, at the University of Johannesburg.

Ryan replaces Michiel Verhoeven, who is taking on a senior leadership role outside of 51风流after nearly three years in the role.

For more information, visit the听51风流News Center. Follow 51风流on Twitter at听.

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Today, leadership has never been so important as we learn to live without the regular in-person interactions of office life. But that can be a positive too as hierarchies are reduced and as more people have the opportunity to input ideas.

Having recently taken on my new leadership role in the UK and Ireland for SAP, I wanted to share a few insights about how I approach the leadership challenge.

Create a sense of purpose and belonging

• Be aspirational about a future state you wish to see materialise. At SAP, we feel connected as we are proud of our lofty mission: to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. It helps to communicate role model examples and behaviours to demonstrate it鈥檚 possible to make this future real. It creates hope and shows you genuinely care.
• Establish customer success as the true 鈥淣orth Star鈥� across the organisation. Today, every leader needs to think about customer experience and the sensations that their products and services deliver. But don鈥檛 fool yourself when it comes to the KPIs that are often loaded in favour of what you鈥檙e hoping they will say. There鈥檚 no substitute for engaging directly with customers to solicit open feedback and feeling a sense of urgency to implement improvements. Customers鈥� pain (their need) is real, urgent and important, so empower your front-line staff to make decisions, while encouraging all team members to contribute.
• Be considerate and take time to acknowledge prior journeys people have been on. There is a need for empathy and to recognise what worked well, then let go and reset expectations based on the facts of the current situation and your view of the future state. Depending on the size and complexity of the organisation, this may take longer than you were hoping for, so be open that you expect people to engage.

Ensure your team is grounded in what is expected

• Define measurable goals for the change you are embarking on so that individuals and teams feel and see their contribution to the broader organisation. Then, give your teams the creative freedom and trust to come up with long- and short-term execution plans that deliver against these goals.
• Deliver on promises and show results. If you can鈥檛 count it, it doesn鈥檛 count. If you go out on a limb and make a pledge, you must back that up and make it demonstrable, so everybody knows where they stand. Customer experience is not just about what you do on a given day when everything is going well. It鈥檚 about repeating that high standard systemically, day in, day out.

Embrace the people in your team, because they are your most valuable asset

• Build trust in management by banishing silos and matrices and by creating safe spaces to express contrary points of view. Many organisations talk about not having a hierarchy and pride themselves on listening鈥� but they don鈥檛. You need to stop anything that鈥檚 preventing people from expressing themselves and check your ego at the (office) door.
• Know your strengths as people and teams, and don鈥檛 always try to fix what you鈥檙e not good at. Self-improvement is always a valid aim but sometimes we all need to accept that there are things we as individuals are good at and others not so good.
• Be a team player, not a lone wolf. In some working cultures there is a tendency to admire solo superstars and go-it-alone heroes. But for broad corporate success, teamwork, knowledge transfer and sharing are essential.
• Communicate, celebrate and recognise achievements. Where teams have outperformed, you need to take a second to learn from that and to praise. No matter how fast-moving the culture, there needs to be a moment of reflection and the chance to say 鈥榞reat job鈥�.
• Don鈥檛 treat apprenticeships as merely a 鈥榩eople funnel鈥�. We hold apprentice schemes in high regard, as early talent is essential to transforming our company brand and culture.听Not all apprentices will land permanent jobs in the company, but if you鈥檙e deliberate in your programs, many will be attracted to and valued by your ecosystem partners.
• Understand human motivations. As leaders, we want to get the best from people and that starts with understanding their mindsets. In which situations do they have a growth mindset, where they believe in their capacity to learn, to embrace challenges and to do better? Are you clear when they have more of a fixed mindset, to use Carol Dweck鈥檚 ? There are tools such as or (formerly StrengthsFinder) that are very valuable in motivating people positively, while providing ideas on how to assemble teams with complementary and diverse capabilities.

Openness and fresh thinking

• Deploy a positive mindset to tackle complex challenges. Business isn鈥檛 always easy and there are obstacles that can appear intractable. But if we approach those complicated areas without fear of negativity, we can untie the knots that are restricting us.
• Recognise the value of diversity. People often pay lip service to diversity and then do very little practically. You have to genuinely want to be inclusive and sincerely embrace self-awareness, while recognising failings or the limitations of your own experiences. My feeling is that diversity of thought is hugely valuable in looking at issues in the round and I recall especially positive experiences, for example, from working for inspiring women leaders. Working with people from so many different cultures around the world has helped me to challenge ingrown prejudices and lose my blinkers.
• Have fun and encourage that in others. If work is too pressurised and dominated by high performance, that can be a negative. It鈥檚 important that leaders set an example, enjoy our work and encourage our people to deliver their best possible versions of themselves and deliver great results too.
• Overinvest time in identifying and developing talented people. It may be tempting to hire talent from your past, but consider your longer term goals especially if you have to win over an organisation. Make reasons for hiring and promotions transparent and seek to be objective in your approach.听Engage people in communities so they can articulate what the expectations are for their roles and so that success criteria are shared.听Investing in the development of others is motivating for both parties and your ultimate currency for success as a team.

As I hope I鈥檝e shown, leadership can take many forms and often the best leaders are the ones that may not be flashy, but they have an effect on the organisation that is pervasive and constant. The chance to lead is a blessing and everyone must work out the style that works for them but, more than ever, taking responsibility, listening and helping others to shine are critical.

Michiel Verhoeven has been UK & Ireland Managing Director of 51风流SE since July 2020. He leads the UK & Ireland team, executing SAP’s UKI growth strategy with a focus on delivering customer success and innovation in the region, together with SAP’s ecosystem partners.

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