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Why SAP CTO Jürgen Müller Left: What SAP Said, What Prosecutors Investigated and What Happened Next

Jürgen Müller left SAP after acknowledging inappropriate behavior at a company event. Prosecutors later investigated suspected sexual harassment; reports said the case closed after an undisclosed payment, without establishing a conviction.
From TheFinanceBase Team4 min to read
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SAP CTO and Executive Board member Jürgen Müller left the software company by mutual agreement on September 30, 2024, after acknowledging what SAP described as inappropriate behavior at a past company event. SAP did not initially disclose the conduct. Prosecutors later investigated suspected sexual harassment, and the investigation was subsequently reported closed after Müller agreed to make an undisclosed payment. The available record does not establish a conviction or a judicial finding that the alleged conduct occurred.

What happened to SAP’s CTO?

SAP announced on September 3, 2024, that Jürgen Müller would leave its Executive Board and the company effective September 30. The announcement described the departure as a “mutual agreement,” not a dismissal.

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SAP said Müller had acknowledged an incident at a past company event in which his behavior was inappropriate. Müller apologized, accepted responsibility and said stepping down was best for SAP. The company did not identify the event, describe the behavior, identify anyone affected or initially characterize the matter as sexual harassment. SAP’s announcement contains the company’s official account.

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What was the alleged conduct?

The first public description came from SAP’s general reference to “inappropriate” and inconsiderate behavior. On September 13, 2024, the Heidelberg Public Prosecutor’s Office and Mannheim police said they were investigating a former senior executive at a large software company in the Rhein-Neckar region on suspicion of sexual harassment.

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The authorities’ statement did not name Müller or provide details of the alleged act. Contemporaneous reporting identified him as the executive under investigation. Later reports, including coverage based on legal sources, described an allegation that he improperly approached or touched a female employee at a company event. Those details should be treated as reported allegations, not established facts. The identity of the employee has not been publicly disclosed.

Authorities emphasized that the investigation was at an early stage, that it was not yet known whether sufficient evidence existed and that the presumption of innocence applied. See the Heidelberg prosecutors’ statement and The Register’s reporting.

Why did Müller leave SAP?

The confirmed explanation is that SAP and Müller agreed he would leave after the incident, and Müller said he believed his departure was in the company’s best interests. SAP’s wording supports describing the exit as a mutual agreement.

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It would be inaccurate to state categorically that SAP fired him unless further evidence establishes that. The circumstances may suggest that SAP wanted him to depart, but that is an inference rather than the company’s stated description of the employment decision.

Was Müller charged or convicted?

Based on the available reporting, prosecutors opened an investigation into suspected sexual harassment. In late January 2025, Bloomberg Law and Handelsblatt reported that the investigation had been closed after Müller agreed to make a payment. The amount was not disclosed, and Bloomberg Law reported that Müller’s lawyer described the matter as involving one alleged incident.

A payment-linked closure is not the same as a criminal conviction or a judicial finding that the alleged conduct occurred. The available sources do not establish that Müller was convicted or criminally found guilty. The precise legal mechanism and terms of the resolution should therefore be described with attribution rather than overstated.

See Bloomberg Law’s report and Handelsblatt’s coverage.

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Who took over Müller’s responsibilities?

SAP did not announce a permanent replacement CTO in its September 3 statement. Instead, it split the interim responsibilities:

  • CEO Christian Klein assumed responsibility for most of the Technology & Innovation board area previously overseen by Müller.
  • The Global Security & Cloud Compliance team moved into the Customer Services & Delivery board area under Thomas Saueressig.

It is therefore more precise to describe this as an interim redistribution of responsibilities than to say Klein simply became Müller’s permanent replacement.

Who was Jürgen Müller?

Müller joined SAP in 2013 in innovation-related roles and became the company’s CTO and an Executive Board member in 2019. SAP renewed his contract in April 2024 for another three-year period, reportedly extending it through 2027. His departure only months later made the announcement particularly unexpected.

He was closely associated with SAP’s cloud, platform and innovation strategy. SAP credited him with helping establish the SAP Business Technology Platform, or SAP BTP, which the company described at the time as the technical foundation for its integrated product strategy and a platform serving more than 23,000 live customers.

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Why the departure mattered to SAP

Müller’s exit affected the leadership of a technology organization central to SAP’s cloud and AI transformation. His responsibilities included oversight connected to technology and innovation, while SAP BTP represented an important part of the company’s effort to connect applications, data and platform services.

That leadership change was strategically significant, but the available sources do not establish that the incident disrupted SAP’s product roadmap, customer operations or financial performance. The documented consequence was an executive reorganization, not a proven operational or financial impact.

What remains unknown?

  • The full circumstances of the event and the alleged conduct.
  • The identity of the employee involved.
  • The amount and complete terms of the payment reportedly associated with the investigation’s closure.
  • Whether SAP conducted an internal investigation and, if so, what its findings were.
  • The precise employment and compensation terms agreed when Müller left.

Separately, The Register reported that SAP compensation disclosures showed Müller received approximately €7.14 million in total compensation for 2024. That figure should not automatically be called a severance payout: total compensation can include salary, benefits, incentives and other components, and the available report does not establish that the entire amount was severance.

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