Michal Romi appointed CEO of SAP's development center in Israel
SAP has appointed Michal Romi as the new CEO of SAP Labs Israel. She will take office on September 1, succeeding Orna Kleinmann, who is moving to a senior global leadership role within the company.
SAP is appointing Michal Romi as CEO of the company's development center in Israel (SAP Labs Israel). Romi will assume her position on September 1. She will replace Orna Kleinmann, who has moved to a senior position in the company's global management, where she will lead the AI activity for SAP's cloud platform. Kleinmann led the development center in Israel for 12 years, and during her tenure, she significantly expanded its activity and influence within global SAP. Recently, a labor dispute at the company ended, and the parties signed a new labor agreement.
Romi brings with her over a decade of experience in senior management roles at eBay. Alongside her technological and business activities, Romi was a member of the management team of the eBay center in Israel and also served as Business Ethics Officer. Romi holds an MBA in Information Systems from the College of Management and a Bachelor's degree in Management and Communications from Tel Aviv University.
The SAP development center in Israel was established in 1998 and currently employs about 800 people in Ra'anana and Tel Aviv. Over the years, SAP's activity in Israel has also developed through a series of acquisitions of Israeli technology companies, with the local ecosystem becoming a significant source of innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent for the global company. The acquisition of WalkMe in 2024 is among the latest acquisitions that have expanded SAP's presence and activity in Israel and globally.
The center in Israel is involved in the development of technologies and products that are at the core of SAP's strategy, in areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud, data, and technology platforms. Among other things, teams in Israel are working on capabilities related to the SAP Business Technology Platform and data and AI solutions used by SAP customers around the world. In recent years, Business AI and the ability to connect artificial intelligence, data, and business processes have become a central component of SAP's technological strategy.
Romi stated:
«The Israeli center combines exceptional technological talent, deep experience in building global products, and a connection to one of the world's leading innovation hubs.»
Clas Neumann, SVP, Head of SAP Labs Network, stated:
«Israel is an important hub of innovation and technology for SAP, and our development center here has a significant role in the global SAP Labs network. Michal brings with her an impressive combination of experience in leading technology organizations, deep understanding of data and AI fields, and the ability to lead teams and businesses in a complex and changing environment. We are confident that she is the right leader to take the Israeli development center to its next chapter.»
SAP is the world's largest European software company and a global leader in the fields of Business AI and enterprise applications. The company is the world's leading software manufacturer for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), with about 111,000 employees operating in about 180 countries, and provides a wide range of solutions for businesses of all sizes belonging to 25 different industries. SAP's customers include 99 of the 100 largest companies in the world and 97 of the 100 "green" companies in the world. SAP ended 2025 with revenues of 37.8 billion euros. In total, SAP serves over 400,000 organizations worldwide, and its customers are responsible for about 84% of global trade. In the cloud sector, the company's platforms have over 300 million subscribers, a figure that strengthens its position as a global leader.
