Lee Marshall to Head SAP’s AI Initiatives in ANZ

SAP has appointed digital transformation veteran Lee Marshall as its new Head of AI for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). The move signals SAP’s clear strategy towards doubling down on helping customers move Business AI from the drawing board to the bottom line.

Marshall, with over 35 years of experience, including senior roles at Microsoft and Salesforce, is tasked with guiding SAP users on how to practically deploy AI and agents like SAP Joule.

“In uncertain economic conditions, AI is one of the clearest levers organisations have to lift productivity and secure long-term competitiveness. At SAP, we champion a practical, responsible approach by building on trusted data, embedding AI into everyday workflows, backed by strong governance,” Angela Colantuono, President, SAP ANZ noted. “Lee’s deep private and public sector relationships and experience will prove instrumental in helping customers move from experimentation to production, to deliver measurable outcomes and realise their potential.”

For SAP users in the region, the latest appointment means having a leader who understands the complexities of embedding AI into the core processes that run their business. It complements SAP’s of creating a powerful flywheel where its Business Suite, Data Cloud, and Business AI work in concert. SAP user applications generate the data, that data trains the AI, and the AI continuously optimises applications and workflows.

Marshall himself sees a unique value proposition, stating, “I don’t see anyone else with as strong a business value proposition when it comes to AI.”

What This Means for Mastering SAP Insiders

Marshall’s appointment underscores a pivotal moment for ANZ businesses. The focus is shifting from “what can AI do?” to “what can AI do for us, right now?” With leadership that combines deep industry knowledge with a track record in AI-powered applications, SAP is positioning itself to provide the answer. Specifically, the appointment highlights:

1. AI is now a competitive necessity for ANZ businesses. In today’s uncertain economic conditions, AI is one of the clearest levers an organisation can utilise to boost productivity and secure long-term competitiveness. The conversation has moved past theoretical benefits. The focus is now on practical, responsible AI adoption that delivers tangible results by building on the trusted data already within an SAP systems.
2. SAP’s approach to AI is an integrated one. SAP is embedding Business AI directly into its enterprise cloud portfolio, creating a flywheel of compounding business value. Therefore, this isn’t a separate tool that organisations need to integrate. By uniting the Business Suite, Data Cloud, and Business AI, the system is designed to be self-optimising. This is already happening at scale, with over 34,000 customers using SAP Business AI across more than 130 generative AI use cases.
3. A focus on practical, measurable outcomes. Marshall’s deep experience across both the private and public sectors will be instrumental in helping customers in the ANZ region move from experimentation to production. For Mastering SAP Insiders in the region, this means having dedicated leadership focused on helping them derive the most value from AI with minimum friction, using the SAP solutions they already rely on.