Americas’ SAP Users’ Group Announces New President/Chief Executive Officer

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Americas’ SAP Users’ Group (ASUG), the world’s largest customer-run community of SAP professionals, announced today that Steven Strout, current ASUG Board member and former CIO of Morris Communications, was named the organization’s new President and Chief Executive Officer.

The President/CEO role is a newly created position, and Strout, formerly the Executive Vice President on the ASUG Board of Directors, becomes the first full-time employee of the organization. As President/CEO, he is charged with strengthening the strategic partnership between ASUG and SAP and working with the board to develop a long-term strategy for the organization. He relinquished his board position when he assumed the new role on August 20^th.

“Both SAP and ASUG have reached the next inflection point in our histories,” said Rodney Masney, who had held the position of ASUG Board President and has now become Board Chairperson. “ASUG's growth will stem from SAP's full realization of their Enterprise SOA and market strategy. In addition to his extensive SAP knowledge, Steve brings tremendous business acumen, marketing savvy, and strategic vision to ASUG. He will be essential in guiding the organization through our next growth phase, and I look forward to the positive effects his leadership will have on the organization.”

Adding this new role to the ASUG leadership team will have benefits across the organization. A full-time President/CEO will help streamline decision-making, improve communications, and decrease time-to-market in bringing new value-add programs and services to the membership.

“I’ve derived a great deal of value from my affiliation with ASUG – both as a member and in my role on the Board of Directors," said Strout. "As President/CEO, I'm looking forward to making ASUG even more valuable, both to our members and partners, as well as to SAP. With the collective passion of our volunteer base and the dedication of our entire team, we will address the dramatic growth opportunities in the SAP ecosystem and ensure that all members of that ecosystem can find and receive value within ASUG’s doors.”

Strout has over 25 years experience providing strategic vision and direction around the practical application of technology. Prior to his CIO role at Morris, Strout served as senior vice president and chief technology officer for Thomson Learning; senior vice president and CTO for Thomson Scientific, Reference & Healthcare; and vice president and CTO for Thomson Newspapers. Prior to that, Strout spent 12 years with The New York Times Co. in various technology, financial, and operational management positions.

About ASUG

The Americas' SAP Users' Group (ASUG(R)) is an independent, volunteer-run organization that facilitates knowledge transfer among the community of SAP customers by providing user-driven educational opportunities, professional networking and a forum that provides insight and influence to SAP. ASUG maintains a unique position within the SAP community through its: combination of highly-focused education tools; access to subject matter experts and SAP executives; ability to influence SAP products and services; and personal networking opportunities with SAP customers. As a result, members from any sized organization continuously solve their SAP-related business problems more efficiently and cost-effectively, realizing a significant return from their membership. (Additional information at http://www.asug.com.)