Biography, Mr. Herbert M. Heitmann

Chief Communications Officer, SAP AG,
Chair, ICC's Commission on E-Business, IT and Telecoms

As Chief Communications Officer of Global Communications for SAP AG, Herbert Heitmann leads all communications activities for SAP stakeholders around the globe, including investors, customers, partners, employees, and the general public. He is also responsible for the corporate reputation building and management. In his role, Heitmann acts as an advisor to Henning Kagermann, CEO of SAP AG, regarding all aspects of communications strategy.

Heitmann has more than 15 years of experience in corporate and public communications. He has a wide range of past experience in the public and private sector, ranging from research and development at Jülich’s nuclear research facility, leading corporations including Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Henkel, to a political advisory role in Germany’s parliament. Throughout his professional career, Heitmann’s main focus has been on driving effective communications among very diverse stakeholders.

Heitmann joined SAP in 1998 as a speechwriter for Hasso Plattner (an SAP co-founder and currently chairperson of the SAP Supervisory Board) directly from the German Parliament where he served as a political consultant on technical, educational, and scientific issues. He played a strategic role in several political campaigns and cross-party negotiations, for example, on issues ranging from the future of nuclear power in Germany, to the European Space Station and the creation of Germany’s first law on genetic engineering. He also participated in an exchange program with the United States Congress.

Prior to his tenure in the German government, Heitmann worked as a chemical engineer, responsible for paper products design optimization at P&G; the automation of consumer testing at Henkel; and efficiency gains in the gold refinery process at Johannesburg Consolidated Investments.

Heitmann is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, a professional association that aims to strengthen the management policy role of senior communications executives and is also an associate of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), where he heads up their communications task force. Since end of 2006 he acts as president for the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD). In 2007 he took on chairmanship for the EBITT commission (E-business, IT & Telecoms) at the International Chamber of Commerce.

Heitmann earned his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Dortmund, Germany.