Gerhard Oswald has been a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG since 1996. He is responsible for Global Service & Support, which embraces SAP Consulting, SAP Eduction, SAP Custom Development, SAP Active Global Support, and Quality Governance & Production.

Oswald joined SAP in 1981 where he was instrumental in the development of the sales support network for SAP R/2, responsible for quality control. He then assumed responsibility for quality control in the critical development project of SAP R/3 software. From 1987 until 1993, Oswald was a member of the project management team responsible for the conception, development, and delivery of SAP's flagship enterprise resource planning software, SAP R/3.

Following the completion of this project in 1993, Oswald was appointed to the SAP Extended Management Board. In 1994, he assumed responsibility for the SAP R/3 Services division. Two years later, in 1996, he was appointed a member of the Executive Board. During his leadership, the foundation of SAP Active Global Support, the worldwide SAP global support infrastructure, and the continuous improvement of innovative support offerings have demonstrated SAP's thought leadership in the industry.

Oswald began his career at Siemens AG, as an applications consultant for SAP R/2 business processes from 1977 to 1980. He studied business administration at the University of Mainz, Germany.

Publications
Gerhard Oswald has authored or co-authored the following books: "SAP Service and Support" (new and extended edition, 2006) "SAP Service and Support: An A-to-Z Guide to Optimizing ROI and TCO" (2003) "Support- und Service-Systeme bei der SAP" with Lisa M. Blaschke (1996)