As a result of its majority acquisition of Business Objects, SAP has now created a new line of business called SAP Business Objects, under the leadership of former Business Objects CEO John Schwarz, who also named officially as the seventh member of the SAP Executive Board, effective March 1, 2008.

Schwarz joined Business Objects in September 2005 as its CEO, and during his tenure oversaw seven strategic acquisitions, including Cartesis and Firstlogic. He drove revenue growth to more than U.S. $1.5BN.

As a member of the SAP Executive Board, reporting to SAP CEO Henning Kagermann, Schwarz is responsible for all aspects of Business Objects operations, including go-to-market activities and development, as well as the integration of the SAP Business Objects unit into SAP.

Prior to Business Objects, Schwarz was president and chief operating officer of Symantec Corporation. While at Symantec, he played a key role in tripling the business to more than U.S. $2.7 billion in revenue and was instrumental in the successful combination of Symantec and VERITAS. Before joining Symantec, Schwarz spent 25 years at IBM Corporation, working in various development, manufacturing, sales and marketing roles. His last position was general manager of IBM's Industry Solutions unit.