Christian Klein, the Chief Executive Officer of SAP SE, received his largest compensation package to date, amounting to €19 million ($19.9 million) in 2024, a remarkable increase of 165% from the previous year. This surge in pay comes as the German software firm’s stock reached an all-time high, driven by the recent boom in artificial intelligence.
Since Klein took over as CEO in 2019, SAP’s shares, which cater to bookkeeping, HR, and various enterprise functions, have soared by over 130%. Last year, SAP became the most valuable technology company in Europe, surpassing ASML Holding NV, a leading chipmaking equipment manufacturer. The Walldorf-based company has significantly enhanced its cloud sales by introducing new AI functionalities. In 2024, Klein also initiated a significant restructuring that impacted approximately 10% of the workforce.
Despite this substantial pay increase, Klein’s compensation still falls short compared to some CEOs at smaller U.S. competitors. For instance, Marc Benioff of Salesforce Inc. earned $39.6 million in total compensation for the 2024 fiscal year, while Klein’s predecessor, Bill McDermott, now at ServiceNow Inc., made $37.6 million in 2023. According to an analysis by AP, the median total compensation for S&P 500 CEOs rose by 12.6% to $16.3 million in 2023. Other senior executives at SAP also saw increases in their pay, reflecting the company’s strong stock performance, as share options play a significant role in their compensation. Over the last 14 months, SAP’s market capitalization has reached record levels, currently around €335 billion. Former Chief Technology Officer Jürgen Müller received €7.14 million for 2024 before leaving SAP in September following allegations of “inappropriate” behavior at a company event. He settled a German criminal investigation related to alleged harassment in January. On the same day, SAP reported its internal compliance complaints for the first time, in accordance with new European Union regulations. The company received a total of 999 complaints in 2024, which included 107 related to discrimination, 362 for psychological harassment, and 85 for sexual harassment. SAP noted that the number of identified violations was significantly lower than the number of investigations initiated by these complaints. A spokesperson indicated that about 10% of the global investigations uncovered policy violations, resulting in the termination of around two dozen employees.
Klein’s record compensation comes alongside a 2.4% average pay increase for SAP’s 24,000 employees in Germany for 2025. This decision faced criticism from the IG Metall union, which deemed the raise insufficient given the company’s strong performance.
