SAP CEO Leo Apotheker Resigns

Updated from 1:46 a.m. EST

WALLDORF, Germany (TheStreet) -- SAP(SAP) returned to a co-CEO structure after Chief Executive Leo Apotheker resigned from the SAP executive board, less than a year after serving as its solo chief executive.

SAP, the German software company, didn't detail the reasons behind Apotheker's departure but said in a statement its supervisory board "reached a mutual agreement" with Apotheker not to renew his contract.

The company appointed two insiders as co-CEOs: Bill McDermott, who currently heads field organization; and Jim Hagemann Snabe, SAP's head of product development. Both are already members of the company's executive board.

"The new leadership team will continue to drive forward SAP's strategy and focus on profitable growth, and will deliver its innovations in 2010 to expand SAP's leadership of the business software market,'" said Hasso Plattner, the company's chairman and co-founder, in a statement.

SAP and Apotheker have been under increasing pressure to revive growth following flagging sales and profits, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company reported a 12% drop in fourth-quarter net income to 727 million euros ($991 million) last month.

Meanwhile, Vishal Sikka, chief technology officer, has been appointed to the SAP executive board, the company said.

Shares of SAP were trading down about 1% in Germany.

Follow TheStreet.com on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints