Head of CTO Area Research & Innovation - Business Development & Product Growth

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At SAP, we keep it simple: you bring your best to us, and we'll bring out the best in you. We're builders touching over 20 industries and 80% of global commerce, and we need your unique talents to help shape what's next. The work is challenging – but it matters. You'll find a place where you can be yourself, prioritize your wellbeing, and truly belong. What's in it for you? Constant learning, skill growth, great benefits, and a team that wants you to grow and succeed.

Position Summary

The Head of Business Development & Product Growth is a senior leadership role within SAP Research & Innovation, accountable for transforming breakthrough ideas into tangible innovation outcomes—from ideation and exploratory research through validation and early‑stage product offerings with clear relevance to SAP’s future portfolio and growth strategy.

This role operates at the intersection of research, innovation strategy, ecosystem collaboration, and product realization, bridging exploratory innovation with executable product and growth pathways across SAP’s portfolio. It is highly collaborative by design to ensure innovation efforts are strategically aligned, execution‑ready, and positioned for long‑term scalability.

Reporting into Research & Innovation leadership with direct exposure to the CTO, this role acts as a strategic integrator and execution leader, orchestrating collaboration across SAP and the external ecosystem to accelerate innovation‑to‑market impact.

Strategic Context & Collaboration Model

The role is highly collaborative by design and operates as a connective layer across key internal and external stakeholders. It works in close partnership with:

• Business AI
• Lines of Business (LoB) Product Teams
• CTO Strategy & Operations
• Academic Partnerships
• Corporate Development
• Partners Management

In addition, the role structures and leads systematic engagement across the broader innovation ecosystem, including academia, technology partners, startups, venture capital, and policy makers, ensuring SAP’s innovation agenda is informed, amplified, and aligned.

Key Responsibilities

Research‑to‑Product Business Development & Growth

• Lead the end‑to‑end progression of transformative ideas from ideation through research, experimentation, and early product or solution offerings
• Own business development and growth for emerging innovation domains, from opportunity identification through customer and market validation
• Partner closely with LoB Product Teams to define clear transition paths from research exploration to product incubation and portfolio integration
• Collaborate with Business AI to embed advanced AI capabilities into innovation initiatives and early offerings
• Define value propositions, adoption strategies, and scaling models for innovation assets

Ecosystem Orchestration & Strategic Partnerships

Design and drive structured collaboration across five core Research & Innovation stakeholder groups:

• SAP LoB Product Teams – ensuring early alignment on relevance, customer value, and product pathways
• Academia & Universities – shaping joint research agendas and translating breakthrough research into applied enterprise innovation
• Technology Partners – co‑innovating on platforms, architectures, and enabling capabilities
• VC & Startup Ecosystem – leveraging startups for acceleration, experimentation, and external innovation signals
• Policy Makers & Public Institutions – collaborate with Government Relations to align innovation activities with regulatory, funding, and societal priorities

The role serves as the central integrator, ensuring ecosystem collaboration is purposeful, outcome‑driven, and strategically aligned.

Strategy Definition, Customer & Executive Engagement

• Synthesize market, technology, customer, competitive, and policy insights into actionable recommendations to define SAP Research & Innovation priorities and project portfolio
• Create high‑impact assets such as white papers, portfolio status update reports and executive decision documents shaping SAP’s research, innovation, and growth agenda
• Engage directly with customers and senior executives to co‑shape innovation direction and validate early offerings
• Position SAP as a thought leader at the intersection of emerging technology, enterprise innovation, and societal impact

Strategic Leadership & Execution Discipline

• Act as a senior leadership partner within Research & Innovation, supporting strategy definition, prioritization, and disciplined execution
• Translate corporate, CTO, and innovation strategy into concrete programs, pilots, and execution roadmaps
• Lead complex, cross‑functional innovation initiatives with high executive visibility
• Drive projects and investment status updates, governance, transparency, and execution across high‑visibility initiatives with direct CTO exposure

Experience & Profile

• Proven experience leading complex strategic or transformation initiatives with senior and Board‑level stakeholders
• Strong technology and software domain expertise, demonstrated through executive‑level innovation or strategy work
• Significant experience producing market analysis, product definition, executive briefs, and decision documents
• Background spanning technology strategy, innovation, research, M&A, finance, and operational excellence
• Strong understanding of SAP’s strategy, operating model, and ecosystem
• Exceptional executive communication skills, written and verbal
• Experience operating successfully across cultures and geographies
• Former SAP company experience strongly preferred

Education & Skills

• Undergraduate / Master degree in computer science or engineering. Experience in conducting academic research is an advantage
• MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred
• Strong industry and general business acumen
• Proficiency in AI-based analysis, content creation, design and development tools
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)
• Demonstrated experience leading projects, teams, or organizational initiatives

Leadership Attributes

• High integrity, sound judgment, and discretion
• Strategic thinker with strong execution mindset
• Politically savvy; trusted advisor to senior stakeholders
• Resilient, adaptable, and effective in high‑ambiguity environments
• Entrepreneurial, outcome‑driven, and collaborative
• Strong role model for SAP culture, collaboration, and diversity

SAP Value Proposition

SAP Research & Innovation offers the opportunity to define what’s next in enterprise technology—working at the frontier of ideation, applied research, ecosystem collaboration, and early product creation. This role enables leaders to turn bold ideas into real‑world impact, shaping SAP’s portfolio, customers, and the future of enterprise innovation at global scale.

Bring out your best
SAP innovations help more than four hundred thousand customers worldwide work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively. Originally known for leadership in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, SAP has evolved to become a market leader in end-to-end business application software and related services for database, analytics, intelligent technologies, and experience management. As a cloud company with two hundred million users and more than one hundred thousand employees worldwide, we are purpose-driven and future-focused, with a highly collaborative team ethic and commitment to personal development. Whether connecting global industries, people, or platforms, we help ensure every challenge gets the solution it deserves. At SAP, you can bring out your best.

We win with inclusion
SAP’s culture of inclusion, focus on health and well-being, and flexible working models help ensure that everyone – regardless of background – feels included and can run at their best. At SAP, we believe we are made stronger by the unique capabilities and qualities that each person brings to our company, and we invest in our employees to inspire confidence and help everyone realize their full potential. We ultimately believe in unleashing all talent and creating a better world.

SAP is committed to the values of Equal Employment Opportunity and provides accessibility accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment with SAP and are in need of accommodation or special assistance to navigate our website or to complete your application, please send an e-mail with your request to Recruiting Operations Team: Careers@sap.com.

For SAP employees: Only permanent roles are eligible for the SAP Employee Referral Program, according to the eligibility rules set in the SAP Referral Policy. Specific conditions may apply for roles in Vocational Training.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their age, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, et al), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, or disability, in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local legal requirements.

Compensation Range Transparency: SAP believes the value of pay transparency contributes towards an honest and supportive culture and is a significant step toward demonstrating SAP’s commitment to pay equity. SAP provides the annualized compensation range inclusive of base salary and variable incentive target for the career level applicable to the posted role. The targeted annual combined range for this position is 274300-609200 USD. The actual amount to be offered to the successful candidate will be within that range, dependent upon the key aspects of each case which may include education, skills, experience, scope of the role, location, etc. as determined through the selection process. Any SAP variable incentive includes a targeted dollar amount and any actual payout amount is dependent on company and personal performance. Please reference this link for a summary of SAP benefits and eligibility requirements: SAP North America Benefits.

We are ethical and compliant
Our leadership credo: Do what’s right. Make SAP better for generations to come. We believe that great leadership extends far beyond the mere pursuit of business goals. We value and foster leadership that is driven with purpose and integrity. Our leaders are role models who uphold SAP’s values and shape SAP’s culture of integrity, by demonstrating and championing ethical and compliant behavior towards all stakeholders.

AI Usage in the Recruitment Process

For information on the responsible use of AI in our recruitment process, please refer to our Guidelines for Ethical Usage of AI in the Recruiting Process.

Please note that any violation of these guidelines may result in disqualification from the hiring process.

Requisition ID: 452416 | Work Area: Solution and Product Management | Expected Travel: 0 - 10% | Career Status: Executive | Employment Type: Regular Full Time | Additional Locations: #LI-Hybrid

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