Lars Dalgaard

 

Lars DalgaardLars Dalgaard joined SAP to run a newly formed Cloud Business Unit when SAP acquired SuccessFactors, the company he founded in 2001. As a member of the SAP Executive Board and the SAP Global Managing Board, Lars Dalgaard owns all responsibility around the company's Cloud business including strategy, product development, and all related go-to-market capabilities.

Lars has an undying passion for releasing the magic of every person in and outside the workplace. Since Dalgaard founded SuccessFactors in the middle of the worst tech crisis in history, SuccessFactors has had a compound annual revenue growth rate of approximately 75 percent, with annual sales of $364 million. It was the fastest growing business application cloud company of its size and the second largest in revenue – delivering 19 cloud applications to enable business execution.

The acquisition of SuccessFactors brought to SAP more than 3,500 customers in 168 countries, in 34 languages, 60 different industries, and with more than 15 million paying recurring users – the most in the application cloud.

Dalgaard was chosen as "Best CEO of a Large Company" in the 2010 San Francisco Business Times Innovation and Technology Awards, and E&Y "Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2009.

Prior to SuccessFactors, Dalgaard spent five years with Unilever and three years at Novartis respectively, working in five different countries (Germany, Switzerland, USA, Holland, and Denmark) with roles in Global Mergers – Acquisitions, Corporate Finance and Controlling, and Sales. He also ran a global business unit and served as a local company CEO, consolidating five acquisitions into one company that subsequently gained 80 percent market share.

Dalgaard holds a Bsc. (Ha) from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and a master's degree from Stanford University Graduate School of Business as a Sloan Fellow.