Friday 9th January, 2014

Two of Concur's three co-founders are leaving the travel and expense software company just a few weeks after SAP closed its acquisition.

Mike Hilton, chief product officer, and Raj Singh, chief operating officer and president, are stepping down, according to an email Concur CEO and co-founder Steve Singh sent to employees on Monday.

"When Mike, Raj and I started out 21 years ago, we had a dream of building a world-class software business that would transform expense management as we know it. Mike and Raj have been instrumental in nurturing our company and growing it to incredible heights," wrote Steve Singh, who is Raj's brother.

Published reports said the pair's last day will be 30th Jan, but SAP didn't respond to an email confirming this information.

Given that Hilton and Raj Singh departed soon after SAP completed its purchase of Concur on Dec. 4, their exit was probably planned well in advance, said Ian Campbell, CEO of Nucleus Research. Discussions on their post-merger roles could have started even before SAP announced last September that it was buying Concur for US$8.3 billion, he said.

"The next phase is to bring it into the SAP world. I'm not sure that the folks who brought it to this point are best suited to do that," Campbell said.

Their departure won't impact the integration of Concur and SAP's technology. SAP wants a smooth transition and has a team in place to handle that task, he said.

The exit of the two co-founders, however, may possibly bring down the morale of the remaining employees, though many workers are staying on after the merger, said Ray Wang, chairman and founder of Constellation Research.

Executives who are staying on include Elena Donio, who will become president after serving as Concur's executive vice president and general manager, and Barry Padgett, who takes over as chief product officer and was previously executive vice president of traveller services. Both have been with Concur for longer than 15 years, Steve Singh wrote in the email, a copy of which was provided by SAP.

People who found companies have a different mindset than other employees, said Wang. When company founders leave after an acquisition, their departure doesn't necessarily mean there was disagreement on how the merged business should operate.

"Founders are different breeds. They usually want to build something else after they sell or try another adventure," he wrote.

Executive departures following a merger are common, said Campbell.