Sexual harassment scandal at Sap top management, Chief Technology Officer removed

Change in top management at Sap over sexual harassment scandal. The German public prosecutor's office opened a criminal investigation against the Chief Technology Officer of SAP SE, Jürgen Müller, after the company stated that he would resign at the end of the month due to 'inappropriate' behaviour.

 Heidelberg prosecutors have opened a formal investigation into an allegation of sexual harassment, an agency spokesman said in an emailed statement. The investigation was opened after media reports that the manager allegedly approached an employee inappropriately, according to the statement. Müller did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Walldorf-based software company announced last week that Müller would be leaving the company following an incident at a company event. SAP did not specify details on the nature of what happened.

SAP will fully cooperate with the investigation, the company said in a note.

This is not the first incident to raise concerns about the culture at SAP. Current and former employees have already complained about incidents of bullying and harassment that keep female employees, in particular, out of management positions, as well as alcohol consumption at events that have led to problematic behaviour. Müller, who is responsible for preparing the company for the acquisition of additional cloud computing customers and leading SAP's 'enterprise technology platform', joined SAP in 2013 and was appointed CTO to the board in 2019. His contract was extended in April until the end of 2027. Müller's departure is the latest in a series of board exits. Marketing manager Julia White and chief revenue officer Scott Russell left SAP at the end of August