Multiple sources have told CDN that SAP Canada managing director Bob Elliott is no longer running the Canadian subsidiary.
CDN has also learned that SAP Canada COO Leagh Turner has been put in charge for the interim.
Bob Elliott
An internal source at SAP confirmed that Elliott has left the company.
Elliott ran SAP Canada for two and half years and replaced the long-time face of SAP in Canada Mark Aboud.
Elliott was previously the senior vice-president of sales and has spent approximately eight years at SAP Canada.
Under Elliott’s watch he made data sovereignty a priority for SAP customers who worried about the U.S. Patriot Act. Elliott addressed this customer concern by working towards SAP Canada operating its own data centre north of Toronto that is intended to assure organizations personal data won’t leave the country.
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He also was a big part of SAP Canada’s development of a Managed Cloud-as-a-Service offering and introduced a Canadian technology investments plan.
He said, in a previous interview, “My mission is to take full advantage of our great solutions and the opportunities that cloud, enterprise mobility and real-time analytics offer, and continue to grow our Canadian market share. Our focus will be on providing Canadian businesses with the insights they need to run their companies more competitively on the global stage. It’s an excellent time to be in this position. The cloud and digital revolution is making our business more exciting than ever. What we offer businesses today goes beyond software; we’re putting real time data in the hands of their customers. As a result, we are improving how they work and compete. I want to continue our long tradition of working with Canadian companies to help make their business smarter, faster and better.”
Channel wise, SAP Canada expanded its distribution agreement with Avnet Technology Solutions to target big data and analytics, while acquiring Montreal-based e-commerce vendor Hybris.
Leagh Turner
As interim leader, Turner will now be responsible for the business operations of SAP in Canada specifically for the cloud, mobile, and database portfolio. SAP Canada has approximately 2,500 employees across the country and three research and development facilities in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Turner joined SAP Canada in 2008, about a year after Elliott, as an account executive. The University of Western graduate progressed to several roles including director of strategic engagements and vice president of sales for the central region.