Top SAP Executive Gets New Channel Role

SAP on Thursday announced a new position, chief partner officer, and a new role for Karl Fahrbach, former senior vice president and chief operating officer for SAP’s global partner organization.  

SAP tapped the 13-year company veteran to lead its next-generation partnering strategy that entails evolving its channel model to drive more innovation, platform adoption and the sale of cloud solutions.  

“SAP and our partners are absolutely focused on identifying new opportunities with customers by moving from SAP-led application value to partner-led customer innovation,” said Adaire Fox-Martin, member of the executive board, SAP SE. “We are setting the foundation that will enable SAP partners to contribute more value to the future of business through our technology.” 

SAP’s Karl Fahrbach

Fahrbach held his previous position for about six months, responsible for SAP’s indirect sales channel, worldwide. He was tasked with strengthening SAP’s competitive advantage with partners across all market segments, with a strategic focus on the general business marketplace. Farhbach also worked in global partner operations as chief of staff for a little more than two years. He joined SAP in 2006 as global channel sales manager. 

Like many traditional software vendors, market forces have driven SAP to pivot its business to the cloud. In 2019, SAP will shift away from application-led value to partner-led customer innovation with the creation of a next-generation ecosystem. This strategy shift redirects partners from strict resale and implementation and toward a broader role in helping customers become intelligent enterprises. Partner performance will be measured on customer lifetime value and customer success. 

According to IDC, SAP’s partner economy is estimated to be about $100 billion, with that figure expected to double over the next five years. New channel opportunities will be cloud-based activities, which will account for more than 60 percent of net-new revenue for partners, Fahrbach wrote in a company blog last fall.

He also acknowledged that the transition to cloud-based solutions, while offering limitless opportunities, will be difficult for its partners.  

In December, Rodolpho Cardenuto left his job as president, global partner organization, at SAP. He’s now senior vice president of sales at Magic Leap, according to his Linkedin profile. Fahrbach will assume his job responsibilities, the company told Channel Futures.