SAP Australia Appoints Ryan Mitchelmore to Lead New Public Sector Center of Excellence

SAP Australia has appointed transformation specialist Ryan Mitchelmore to lead its newly established Public Sector Center of Excellence, based in Canberra. The centre will focus on   helping accelerate digital transformation across Australian and New Zealand federal agencies, as they shift from legacy ERP systems to modern cloud-based environments supported by AI, automation and data analytics. 

Mitchelmore brings nearly 30 years of experience leading large-scale programs across government, defence, and financial services. His career includes roles across Defence Services Australia, the Digital Transformation Agency, Commonwealth Bank, and Macquarie Bank, where he consistently delivered high-stakes programs on time and within budget. 

 AI-Ready Operations for the Public Sector

The Canberra centre is part of SAP’s global network of industry-focused hubs designed to accelerate innovation for customers in key sectors. The centre, which is expected to hire a team of f 20 Australian citizens over the next two years, will provide public sector–specific expertise to government agencies. Recruitment is already underway, with the centre expected to be fully staffed by mid-2026 

The specialist team will provide advisory services and technical expertise to help federal agencies modernise ERP environments, migrate to cloud platforms, adopt AI responsibly, and scale digital services. The centre will operate as a 12-person permanent team, supported by rotating specialists depending on project needs, all holding appropriate security clearances. 

SAP Australia & New Zealand’s Executive General Manager for Federal Government, Brian Senior, said, “Federal agencies manage some of Australia’s most critical systems, from healthcare delivery to defence logistics, and many already rely on SAP as their enterprise backbone.
This Center of Excellence seeks to connect the dots across these systems, helping agencies chart the clearest path to a secure digital future, while leveraging AI, data analytics and sovereign cloud capabilities.” 

Mitchelmore added, “Agencies need a clear, practical path from legacy environments to AI-ready operations. Our team provides best-practice advice on the recommended journey and appropriate guardrails — from business case and proofs of concept to clean core architecture and migration plans — to enable better informed decisions.” 

 What This Means for Mastering SAP Insiders 

The Canberra SAP Center of Excellence signals major investment in federal transformation. This means demand for SAP specialists trained in government processes, security requirements and cloud migration will grow sharply. Skills in clean core architecture, sovereign cloud, and public sector–specific modules will become increasingly valuable. For SAP practitioners, there is a clear opportunity to specialise in government transformation to secure long-term, high-impact roles. 

SAP is positioning AI, automation, and data analytics as essential to modern public services. As agencies seek “AI-ready operations,” SAP professionals will need strong capability in responsible AI adoption, analytics governance, and secure data management. Expertise in SAP Business AI, SAP Analytics Cloud, and integrated data frameworks will be critical to helping agencies meet productivity, security and compliance expectations. 

With all centre personnel required to be Australian citizens with security clearances, a new benchmark is being set for SAP work in government. SAP insiders who develop a deeper understanding of sovereignty rules, cybersecurity frameworks and secure-cloud design will have a competitive edge. In short: professionals who can pair SAP expertise with compliance and security-first architectures will lead the next wave of public sector transformation.