Gero Decker would never have had to work again after his exit. Nevertheless, he decided to join SAP. Founder scene he reveals the reason.
After ten years from founder to employee: Gero Decker took exactly this path. He spent a decade building his Berlin software startup Signavio. This is intended to help companies make their own business processes more efficient. In 2021 he then sold Signavio to SAP for 950 million euros. But instead of retiring, he went to SAP to continue working in the Process Intelligence area.
In an interview with Gründerszene on the roof terrace of the Delta Campus, he explains how this came about and what he plans to do at SAP.
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Big corporation instead of a Bali vacation
For Decker, the sale of Signavio to SAP was not the end point, but the next step, he tells Gründerszene. “SAP was a good fit for me because the company had the building blocks with which a new product could be further developed,” says Decker. SAP would have delivered what both he and Signavio needed for the next product level.
Timing played a big role for him here. SAP has relied on business process intelligence with a new strategy, says Decker in an interview. The company wanted to become more of a pacesetter in business processes again. That’s exactly where Signavio’s focus lay.
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The moment after the exit
After the sale, says Decker, the next step was to integrate Sagnavio into the SAP cosmos. His claim: “I have set myself the goal of becoming the best acquisition at SAP ever.” This would have taken twelve to 18 months, during which a lot of coordination was necessary. It was mostly work, rather than a glamorous new beginning.
The internal goal: to generate sales of over 400 million euros. “Then with SAP you are just so optional,” says Decker. Means: then you will be noticed by SAP management. From two billion euros onwards, you will not only be noticed, but also taken seriously, says Decker.
What attracts him to SAP (and holds)
What is it like to move from CEO position to a corporation? Decker says that he doesn’t feel unfree in large organizations. “As a founder, you are never really your own boss because customers, employees, investors and family always have a say.” That’s why he even felt freer at SAP than when he worked with financial investors.
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That’s exactly why he wants to stay at SAP. He denied a report from “Manager Magazin” in which it was said that Decker would be leaving SAP to Gründerszene: “No, I’m not leaving SAP. I will continue to be intensively committed to SAP Signavio and business transformation management in the future.” Although he has given up his operational role as General Manager of SAP Signavio, he remains active in a strategic role. Because now is the right moment to rethink products in the age of AI.