SAP's Aussie channel boss quits

SAP Australia's channel boss Beth Ryan has resigned, with the chief operating officer Greg Miller taking over a renamed and "expanded" role.

The German ERP and cloud vendor announced today that Miller has become the general manager, Global Partner Operations in SAP ANZ.

The role was formerly known as general manager, Ecosystem and Channels, and held by Beth Ryan. She has resigned and will depart the company on 13 June to "take a sabbatical", according to SAP.

CRN contacted Ryan for comment, but she could not be reached at time of publication.

An SAP spokesperson told CRN that Miller had been in a transitional period involving both COO and channel manager activities for "a while now". He said the new GPO head role entails "additional responsibilities" compared to the previous Ecosystem and Channels position.

"The search is now on for a new COO," said the spokesperson.

Ryan oversaw a major channel push by SAP in recent times, as reported by CRN. Miller told CRN earlier this month that this investment was starting to bear fruit.

"[Last year] was about investment in our channel, and our partners were integral to our growth. We ramped up recruitment and enablement, and this investment is yielding results," Miller said at the time. "Our global goal is to achieve 40 percent of revenue with our partners, and SAP and our partners in Australia are well on our way in achieving this."

The vendor stated today that Miller will focus on the SMB sector for channel growth.

"SAP and its partners have a decisive opportunity to deliver the technologies Australian and New Zealand SMBs need to compete and take market share," said Miller.

Miller has previously held senior positions at PeopleSoft, Unisys, Oracle, and Siebel, said the statement from SAP. He joined as COO in 2012.

Earlier this month, SAP Australia reported that annual profit had tripled for the 2013 financial year.