How SAP's CEO Is Remaking the European Tech Giant For The Age Of AI

Bold Names

The Wall Street Journal

Technology

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2020, SAP CEO Christian Klein decided to shift the 50-year-old German software giant entirely to the cloud. The immediate result? The stock price dropped 20% in a single day. Fast-forward to today: SAP is one of the most valuable companies in Europe. In this episode of Bold Names, Klein joins WSJ’s Tim Higgins to discuss navigating that tumult, the cultural overhaul required to modernize the company, and why Europe needs to focus on applied AI to compete with the U.S. and China. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: The Boldest Ideas of 2025 — And What’s in Store for 2026 How Corning Is Using Trump’s Tariffs To Its Advantage Condoleezza Rice on Beating China in the Tech Race: 'Run Hard and Run Fast' Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	AI is incredible. They can teach you how to fry an egg and even write a poem, pirate style.
0:07.0	But it knows nothing about your work. Slackbot is different. It doesn't just know the facts.
0:14.0	It knows your schedule. It can turn a brainstorm into a brief and it doesn't need to be taught.
0:20.0	Because Slackbot isn't just another AI.
0:23.3	It's AI that knows your work as well as you do.
0:26.4	Visit Slack.com forward slash meet Slackbot to learn more.
0:30.1	Your dog fooding, I imagine.
0:31.8	Oh yes, yes, yes.
0:33.2	That favorite Silicon Valley phrase, a test on yourself.
0:36.9	We call it, drink your own champagne,
0:39.1	because it hopefully feels like champagne.
0:46.3	This week on Bold Names, I'm talking to Christian Klein. He's the head of one of Europe's biggest
0:51.4	tech companies, SAP. Christian rewrote the company's business playbook when he took over almost six years ago.
0:58.0	He's going to talk to us about why it paid off and how he's working to future-proof the company now.
1:04.6	From the Wall Street Journal, I'm Tim Higgins.
1:07.1	This is Bold Names, where you'll hear from the leaders of the bold name companies featured in the Wall Street Journal.
1:13.4	This week, we ask, how is one of Europe's biggest tech companies navigating the arrival of AI?
1:26.8	Thank you for joining us here on Bold Names today.
1:30.4	You took over SAP in 2020 as the solo CEO.
1:35.6	One of the first things you did was pretty dramatic.
1:37.5	You announced a complete change of the business model,
1:40.2	and your share price dropped something like 20% in that day.
	...

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