How SAP's CEO Is Remaking the European Tech Giant For The Age Of AI

In 2020, SAP CEO Christian Klein decided to shift the 50-year-old German software giant entirely to the cloud. The immediate result? The stock price dropped 20% in a single day. Fast-forward to today: SAP is one of the most valuable companies in Europe. In this episode of Bold Names, Klein joins WSJ’s Tim Higgins to discuss navigating that tumult, the cultural overhaul required to modernize the company, and why Europe needs to focus on applied AI to compete with the U.S. and China. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: The Boldest Ideas of 2025 — And What’s in Store for 2026 How Corning Is Using Trump’s Tariffs To Its Advantage Condoleezza Rice on Beating China in the Tech Race: 'Run Hard and Run Fast' Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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How SAP's CEO Is Remaking the European Tech Giant For The Age Of AI is an episode from WSJ’s The Future of Everything by The Wall Street Journal.

This episode is 25:50 long.

This episode was published on Jan 30, 2026.

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