MENA Executive Board

Sergio Maccotta is managing director of SAP Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and also heads SAP’s SME business for South East Europe and the Middle East (SEME).

In his role as managing director of MENA he is responsible for all aspects of field operations across this vast region. His role includes strategic planning, operational excellence, sales and field operations, professional services and overall performance for the region.

In addition, Maccotta leads the SME team across SEME where his focus is predominantly on increasing SAP’s penetration of the SME market and growing market share. Maccotta has extensive knowledge of this sector and is ideally placed to help bring the benefits of SAP’s industry and solution expertise to this expanding area of SAP’s business.

Maccotta has worked for SAP for over twelve years and, during his tenure, he has focused mainly on sales management, with additional experience in business development and HR.

Maccotta began his career as an IT consultant in the aerospace sector at Alenia – Finmeccanica in Italy. In 1992, he joined the Milan-based Etnoteam, a leader in ICT solutions development and management consulting for quality and engineering in SW development. After successfully supporting the launch of the new sales organization, Maccotta left Etnoteam and joined SAP Italy in 1996.

Maccotta is a native Italian with a degree in electronic engineering from the University of Genoa, Italy.

As head of Portfolio Industries for South East Europe and the Middle East Kevin Scott is responsible for consolidating SAP’s position as a strategic provider of holistic, value-based solutions for the Discrete & Process, Lifescience, Metals & Mining, ECO and Consumer Industries. Representing some of SAP’s traditional strongholds, he is responsible for ensuring that customers benefit from greater local proximity as well as SAP’s pan-regional expertise.

Formerly head of Large Enterprises (LE) for the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, Scott helped to drive the growth of the regional business and gain market share for SAP. This was achieved through an outstanding record of acquiring new customers and expanding SAP’s footprint in key vertical industries including Banking, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Public Sector and Trading and Services.

Prior to this role, Kevin held the position of Chief Operating Officer for the MENA region where his responsibilities included communicating the value of SAP solutions, and facilitating technical excellence and positive return on investment for customers.

Before joining SAP Kevin held several management positions in Hewlett Packard both in EMEA and the Emerging Markets. He was responsible for the design and launch of the HP National Identification System (HP NIS) and represented the company at the World Bank and the European Union.

Kevin Scott holds a BSc from Sheffield Hallam University and a Masters degree in Business Administration from Warwick University, both in the UK.

As head of Strategic Industries for South East Europe and the Middle East (SEME) Dave Marzouk is responsible for building momentum and extending the reach of SAP’s solution portfolio in the Public Sector, Financial Services and Retail & Wholesale industries. SAP is investing heavily in each of these areas and Marzouk is tasked with consolidating SAP’s position as a trusted partner and the preferred provider of holistic, value-focused solutions. In order to achieve this Marzouk and his team are charged with channeling global SAP expertise and best practices in delivering innovative business solutions for the benefit of regional customers.

Before assuming responsibility for Strategic Industries in SEME, Marzouk held a number of management positions within SAP including Director of Solution Management, Director of Manufacturing Practice, Director of Supply Chain Management Services and Global Account Director. He has worked with some of SAP’s largest and most strategic customers in the Middle East and United States during his fifteen year tenure with the company.

Prior to joining SAP Marzouk worked in the Aerospace and Defense industries for well-known companies including Boeing and Rockwell International where he fulfilled roles in Production Operations and Finance management.

Dave Marzouk has a BA with a Magna Cum Laude designation in Political Science from the University of Missouri in St. Louis; an MA in Political Science from the University of California in Los Angeles; an MBA from Chapman University in Orange County and a PhD in International Relations from La Salle University.

As Chief Operating Officer for South East Europe and the Middle East (SEME), Frank Peerdeman’s primary focus is ensuring smooth and efficient business operations in order to support the growth of SAP across the region. Peerdeman is responsible for Marketing, Solutions, Pre-Sales, Industries, Value Engineering, and Business Operations. Previously, Peerdeman held the Chief Operating Officer position for the Middle East and North Africa region and continues to be directly responsible for this area of the business.

Peerdeman joined SAP in 2006 and began his career as Head Value Engineer Benelux. Prior to assuming his current role he held the position of Head of Business Operations for MENA.

Before joining SAP Peerdeman worked for Dutch family-owned trading company Pon and strategic consultancy firm A.T. Kearney. In the position of strategic manager, he has built an extensive background in the development of business and IT strategies, in various industries such as Oil&Gas, Insurance and Automotive.

Peerdeman has a PhD in Isotope Chemistry from the Australian National University and holds an executive MBA degree from the University of Michigan Business School in the USA.

As HR & Transformation Director for the Middle East & North Africa, Ghassan (Gus) Takkale’s key focus areas are to promote and advance SAP’s purpose and values, drive recruitment initiatives and develop corporate culture. His main responsibility is to ensure that SAP attracts top talent, and retains that talent through personal development and empowerment.

Prior to SAP, Takkale was the Regional HR Director for HILTI where he managed the HR function throughout the Middle East and Africa. His HR exposure spans from North America to the Middle East, in industries such as IT, FMCG and the Public Sector, working with blue chip firms and consulting companies like Arthur Anderson and KPMG. Takkale’s experience includes implementing new talent management initiatives, performance measurement programs and running leadership development workshops and team building seminars.

Gus Takkale holds a Business Degree from the University of Albuquerque New Mexico (USA) and a Management Diploma from the Toronto School of Business (Canada).

As Chief Financial Officer for SAP in South East Europe and the Middle East (SEME) Peter Veenstra is responsible for the financial health of SAP’s operations in this region. Prior to this he acted as Chief Financial Officer for the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and continues to lead the CFO organization for this region as part of his extended remit. Veenstra is charged with leading and implementing financial best practices, ensuring that corporate governance standards are met and helping to make sure that the operation runs in such a way as to promote maximum profitability and agility.

Veenstra joined SAP in the Netherlands in 2000 as Legal Counsel & Commercial Manager. He progressed quickly through the company through a variety of senior finance and administration roles, and was appointed Chief Financial Officer for SAP in the Netherlands before joining SAP MENA to assume his position at the beginning of 2008.

Peter Veenstra has degrees in Business Economics and Law from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Mehmood Khan is Field Services Director for the South East Europe and Middle East region. Having assumed the role for the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) in August 2008, Khan has engaged with an increasing number of customers across the region to drive SAP’s value agenda, help lower operational costs and increase competitiveness. In his expanded role he will continue to direct delivery of these crucial strategies.

Khan joined SAP in 2004 as a member of the Business Consulting team in South Africa and was focused on driving customer engagement and developing market unit specific services. He then led the Value Engineering team and helped to drive the value agenda into SAP’s client base in the region. In 2006 Khan took on the role of Consulting Sales Head for South Africa.

With an extensive background in business and management consulting, Khan has worked for both Accenture and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has extensive experience of developing and executing IT strategies for local and global organisations in the public sector, FMCG and petrochemical industries.

Khan holds a Post Graduate Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.