SAP veteran Robert Enslin joins Google Cloud

Former SAP veteran Robert Enslin is joining Google Cloud as its new president of global customer operations, the company announced Wednesday. Enslin begins on April 22 and will report to the new Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. He's replacing Paul-Henri Ferrand, who "has decided to take on a new challenge within Google," Kurian said in a blog post.

Enslin spent the last 27 years at SAP, most recently serving as president of its cloud business group and as an executive board member. He oversaw an aggressive build-out of SAP's cloud portfolio, including the $8 billion acquisition of Qualtrics. Enslin left SAP earlier this month, following the departure of some other notable executives and the announcement of a company restructuring.

Kurian said that Enslin is taking on a "crucial role" at Google. "Rob's expertise in building and running organizations globally, business acumen and deep customer and partner relationships make him a perfect fit" for the job, he said.

Kurian also noted that Enslin brings significant international experience to Google after having worked d in South Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States.

Enslin is joining Google Cloud just after its major customer conference, Google Cloud Next. At the conference, Kurian -- an Oracle veteran -- unveiled a vertical strategy largely lifted from the Oracle playbook.

With Kurian and Enslin now leading Google Cloud's customer strategy, it's possible the duo could start luring salespeople away from Oracle and and SAP to fill out Google's ranks. Kurian said at the conference that he intends to massively expand Google's go-to-market organization with both larger sales teams but technical specialists.