SAP appoints new Southeast Asia lead amid regional cloud focus

SAP has announced Liher Urbizu as the new President and Managing Director for its Southeast Asia operations, succeeding Verena Siow, who moves to a newly established role as Regional Business Suite Leader for Asia Pacific.

Liher Urbizu, a 25-year veteran at SAP, will oversee the software company's operations, strategy, and customer success efforts across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries in Indochina.

His appointment marks a return to the Southeast Asia region, which he referred to as the start of his journey within SAP. Urbizu will focus on supporting clients' business outcomes by advancing adoption of artificial intelligence, cloud technology, and data-driven innovation within the region.

Prior to this appointment, Urbizu served as Chief Business Officer for SAP in Asia Pacific. In his lengthy tenure, he has held roles including Global Head of Partner Success Services, Head of Services Asia Pacific & Japan, Chief Operating Officer Japan, and Managing Director for SAP Indochina. During his time in these roles, he led teams recognised for notable achievements and industry recognition.

Commenting on his new role, Urbizu said, "Southeast Asia was the launchpad of my career within the SAP ecosystem. I am energized by the opportunity to return and lead this dynamic market unit, with a focus on delivering tangible business outcomes for our customers by harnessing AI and SAP's industry-leading business software solutions. I firmly believe that by aligning our technology with the region's growth ambitions, we will help businesses of all sizes and industries innovate and thrive in the digital-first era."

The leadership transition also sees Verena Siow, with over 13 years at SAP and several years as President and Managing Director for Southeast Asia, taking on the new role of Regional Business Suite Leader for Asia Pacific. In this capacity, she will be responsible for driving cloud growth and leading strategic business development initiatives across the wider Asia Pacific market.

Siow's remit will include the creation of seamless experiences for cloud customers, spanning from demand generation through to renewals. Her focus will be on supporting SAP's regional aims to deliver consistent and high-quality results across all Asia Pacific markets.

Reflecting on the achievements of her Southeast Asia team, Siow stated, "Over the past five years, the Southeast Asia team has demonstrated remarkable resilience and consistent success, anchored by our customers' trust in SAP's solutions and innovation. I'm excited to bring my experience to the whole of APAC, as SAP continues to deliver next-generation cloud solutions and expand our footprint across Asia. I look forward to helping customers, both in Southeast Asia and across APAC, continue to Accelerate to Innovate and unlock further value on their transformation journeys."

Simon Davies, President, SAP Asia Pacific, acknowledged both leaders' contributions, saying, "Southeast Asia is leading the world in this new era of AI adoption. Verena Siow's contribution to SAP SEA over the past several years has been significant, and I am confident that her outstanding leadership will help us execute on our strategy and achieve tangible cloud momentum for SAP and our customers across the APAC region. Liher's extensive leadership experience in Asia will also serve the SEA team well in its next phase of growth. Liher combines a deep understanding of our customers' evolving business needs with a proven track record of leading high-impact teams. As the new President and Managing Director of Southeast Asia, he will play a critical role in accelerating our cloud and AI initiatives, ensuring that organizations in SEA can fully leverage SAP's innovation to solve their most pressing business challenges."

Both appointments are intended to strengthen SAP's approach and presence in the Asia Pacific region, particularly targeting growth in cloud and artificial intelligence services for its enterprise clients.