SAP has appointed Nazia Pillay as MD of its Southern African operation. She had been serving in the role in an interim basis.
Pillay joined SAP as a young graduate more than 20 years ago, and has worked in roles spanning consulting, support, quality management, customer success and, most recently, as head of the organisation’s regional partner ecosystem.
“She fundamentally believes SAP has a leading role to play in helping Africa’s public and private sector companies achieve their AI and innovation ambitions,” SAP said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Nazia will bring vital expertise and leadership skills to one of SAP’s most important regions… With companies across Southern Africa gearing up for an era of AI- and cloud-led innovation, we are especially excited to see how Nazia’s leadership will guide how organisations adopt technology as a strategic lever for national development and growth.”
Pillay said in the statement that she will focus on three core areas in her new role: customer service; strengthening its partner relationships; and helping customers prepare for a cloud-first world.
SAP, which is headquartered in Germany, has had a difficult time in South Africa over the past decade after it was drawn into allegations of state capture corruption during former President Jacob Zuma’s tenure in office.
Transparency
Indeed, the enterprise software giant became one of the most prominent multinational firms linked to state capture. Investigations revealed that between 2014 and 2017, the company paid large commissions to dodgy intermediaries to secure lucrative contracts, including deals with state-owned Transnet and Eskom.
The payments, disguised as “business development services”, were in reality kickbacks to channel state work towards SAP. In 2017, after explosive reporting by the media and the release of the “GuptaLeaks” e-mails, SAP admitted “compliance breaches” and launched an internal investigation. Senior executives were suspended, and the company publicly committed to cleaning up its operations.
The Special Investigating Unit and the National Prosecuting Authority have pursued probes into the implicated contracts, while the Zondo Commission’s state capture report cited SAP as a key example of how international firms enabled corruption by bending governance rules to secure state tenders.
Read: SAP to cough up billions to settle corruption probe
SAP has since apologised and said it has overhauled its compliance processes, banned the use of “business development partners” in high-risk markets and promised greater transparency in its public sector dealings. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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