SAP Cloud CFO Departs for Zuora in Latest Executive Exit

(Bloomberg) -- SAP SE’s cloud division Chief Financial Officer Todd McElhatton will leave the German software giant to run finances at cloud-applications company Zuora Inc., the latest departure in a wave of executive exits.

McElhatton will become CFO of San Mateo, California-based Zuora on June 22, a week after exiting SAP, he said in an interview. He will replace Tyler Sloat, who departed Zuora and joined Freshworks Inc. as CFO this month.

McElhatton spent two years overseeing the finances of SAP’s $7 billion cloud division, which includes acquired companies such as Concur, SuccessFactors and Qualtrics. He’s one of several high-profile leaders who have departed Walldorf, Germany-based SAP within the past year. Bill McDermott, who served as chief executive officer for about a decade, stepped down from that role in October and is now CEO at ServiceNow Inc. Jennifer Morgan, one of McDermott’s two successors, departed in April after disagreements with co-CEO Christian Klein about SAP’s direction. Abdul Razack, SAP’s chief product officer, left earlier this month. With the exception of McDermott, SAP’s first American CEO, these executives have been some of the company’s highest-profile leaders based in the U.S.

Zuora helps other organizations adopt and manage subscription-based business models, but it has struggled at times since its April 2018 initial public offering. The software company has posted slowing year-over-year sales growth in each quarter of the last fiscal year. The stock has declined about 19% this year and, at $11.66, is trading below its $14 IPO price.

McElhatton “understands companies at our level of scale and how do we bridge from where we are to be a multibillion dollar company,” Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo said in an interview. “It’s a milestone for us in the next step of our journey.”

McElhatton said Zuora is well-positioned as a company that helps businesses transform their operations.

“It’s just something I couldn’t pass up and the subscription economy is even going to be a bit more relevant as we go through this post Covid-19 environment,” he said.

McElhatton said it was a coincidence that several SAP leaders have left in recent months and expressed confidence in Klein and SAP’s CFO Luka Mucic.

Zuora hasn’t yet reported results that reflect the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but has pointed to how its customers are faring. In a recent analysis of clients, the company found that half saw no adverse effect on business in March and April. About 20% saw subscriptions accelerate. But notably, 17% are seeing slowing growth and 15% are contracting. Zuora is scheduled to issue results June 3.

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