Software AG Announces Management Board Expansion for Strategy Acceleration Phase With Joshua Husk Appointed CRO and Dr. Benno Quade Appointed COO

Rhea-AI Summary

Software AG has appointed Joshua Husk as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) and Dr. Benno Quade as Chief Operating Officer (COO), expanding its Management Board to six members, effective August 1, 2022. Husk brings extensive sales leadership experience from major firms like IBM and Oracle, aimed at driving transformation in Software AG’s Helix strategy. Dr. Quade, an internal candidate with ten years in the company, will enhance operational excellence. The company aims for consistent revenue and profit growth, with a target of exceeding €1 billion in organic revenue by 2023.

Positive

• Appointment of Joshua Husk as CRO expected to drive new business success and enhance sales productivity.
• Dr. Benno Quade's promotion to COO ensures continuity in operational excellence and strategic focus.

Negative

• Departure of Scott Little, who contributed to the company's transformation, raises concerns about potential instability in leadership.

• Industry leader with track record of global growth joins to lead sales organization
• Outstanding internal candidate with intimate knowledge of Group strategy appointed to oversee all operational activities

RESTON, Va. & DARMSTADT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Software AG (Frankfurt MDAX®: SOW) today announces Joshua Husk has been appointed CRO of Software AG and will become a member of the Group’s Management Board. The Company also announces the appointment of Dr. Benno Quade as group COO and Management Board member. The appointments will expand Software AG’s Management Board to six members and will be effective from August 1, 2022.

Joshua Husk is a proven sales leader who has built and scaled sales teams in highly competitive markets. He has had a distinguished career, holding senior roles at major software players including First Data Corporation, IBM, Intel, Oracle and most recently at the cloud company, Samba Nova. He has experience covering all go-to-market functions including direct sales, alliances and channel, product management and inside sales.

Joshua also has extensive experience in leading sales organizations through a transformation. In this regard he has a skillset ideally suited to the needs of Software AG’s Helix transformation strategy as it evolves into its acceleration phase, with a strong track record of driving new business success; enabling land-and-expand programs; improving sales productivity; achieving strong alliance and channel contributions; and building value-creating renewals teams. Each of these abilities align with a key focus area in Software AG’s transformation plan, which, having launched in 2019, is now delivering consistent growth in both revenue and profit for the first time in over a decade.

Joshua replaces Scott Little, who joined Software AG in 2019 and made an important contribution to the Group’s transformation. Scott is now leaving Software AG to pursue another opportunity outside the Company.

An outstanding internal candidate, Dr. Benno Quade has been with Software AG for 10 years and knows its business and transformation strategy inside out. He has held the positions of Chief Legal Officer, Chief Operating Officer for the go-to-market organization, and has most recently held the post of Chief Customer Success Officer. The creation of this new role is an evolution of the Group’s increased focus on simplification, operational excellence and driving margin expansion, and will bring accountability for all project management and operational activities into the Board.

Sanjay Brahmawar, Software AG CEO, commented:

“Joshua’s focus on razor-sharp execution, productivity and customer success aligns perfectly with the demands of this acceleration phase in our strategy, and as part of our Management Board, he will be able to start affecting positive change right away. I’m sure Benno will also make an enormous impact on our operational excellence activities and support our continued margin expansion. I’d like to welcome them both to their new roles and also thank Scott for his commitment and contributions to Software AG in his time here. We wish him all the best in his next role.”

Christian Lucas, Chairman of Software AG’s Supervisory Board, commented:

“Joshua’s appointment represents an important step in Software AG’s development. Benno has been a vital part of Software AG’s successful customer success and operational excellence program. The Supervisory Board looks forward to working with both Joshua and Benno and seeing their impact on the company first-hand as the Group continues to drive its transformation forward.”

Joshua Husk, Software AG’s incoming CRO, commented:

“I’m extremely excited to be joining Software AG at this pivotal moment in the Helix strategy. The business has built a strong foundation and its products are generating an incredible level of demand in the market. I am looking forward to helping the organization turn that demand into results even more effectively, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Dr. Benno Quade, Software AG COO, commented:

“I am delighted to take on this new role and continue driving operational excellence at Software AG. We have made significant improvements in this area over recent years, and with all our operational roles in one coordinated Board area, we’ll see even more progress towards sustainable, profitable growth in the future.”

About Software AG

Software AG is the software pioneer of a truly connected world. Since 1969, it has helped 10,000+ organizations use software to connect people, departments, systems and devices. Software AG empowers truly connected enterprises using integration & APIs, IoT & analytics and business & IT transformation. Software AG’s products establish a fluid flow of data that allows everything and everyone to work together. The company has more than 4,800 employees across more than 70 countries and annual revenue of over €830m. It is committed to its ambition of exceeding €1 billion of organic revenue and reaching an organic operating profit margin (EBITA, non-IFRS) of between 25 percent to 30 percent in 2023.

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220714005919/en/

Dr. Astrid Kasper

Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Sustainability and Public Affairs

E: astrid.kasper@softwareag.com

T: +49 6151 92-1397



Dorothee Tschampa

Senior Manager, Financial Communications

E: dorothee.tschampa@softwareag.com

T: +49 6151 92-1575

Source: Software AG

FAQ

What changes were made to Software AG's Management Board on August 1, 2022?

Software AG appointed Joshua Husk as Chief Revenue Officer and Dr. Benno Quade as Chief Operating Officer, expanding the board to six members.

Who is Joshua Husk and what is his role at Software AG?

Joshua Husk is the new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Software AG, tasked with driving sales and business transformation.

What is Dr. Benno Quade's background with Software AG?

Dr. Benno Quade has been with Software AG for 10 years, holding multiple roles and is now the Chief Operating Officer.

What are Software AG's revenue goals for 2023?

Software AG aims to exceed €1 billion in organic revenue and achieve an organic operating profit margin of 25-30%.