Claus E. Heinrich has been a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG since 1996. He is responsible for the areas of SAP internal information technology (IT) and the management of all SAP Labs worldwide. Since 1998, he has served as the Executive Board member in charge of employee relations, and is therefore responsible for global human resources (HR) and labor relations at SAP.

Heinrich joined SAP in 1987, responsible for major software development projects, including manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) and logistics controlling. In 1996, he was appointed to the Board with responsibility for the development of logistics applications, particularly in the area of production planning and control.

Heinrich began his career in the academic world. After completing a degree in business administration at the University of Mannheim, Germany, in 1981, he continued as a teaching assistant and researcher at the university as part of their operations research faculty. In 1986, he earned his doctorate in the field of production planning with a specialization in operations research. The following year, he gained international experience working on multiple research projects at Cornell University in New York and other universities in the United States.

Heinrich has been a member of the business administration faculty at the University of Mannheim since 1988 and continues to lecture in the field of supply chain management at his alma mater.