Liautaud, who founded Business Objects in 1990 and served as its CEO until 2005, will serve as an adviser to SAP CEO Henning Kagermann until June, when SAP's supervisory board plans to propose that he be elected to the board of directors, the company said Wednesday.
SAP announced its plans in October to acquire Business Objects for US$6.8 billion and closed the deal earlier this month.
"The industry I helped create almost two decades ago has changed dramatically over the years, and I am very proud to say that Business Objects has consistently been a pioneer in bringing innovation to the market," Liautaud in a statement. "The vision we started out with is now a reality and the need for business intelligence has become pervasive across enterprises large and small. This industry is now at a tipping point and I am confident that, together with SAP, Business Objects will continue to innovate and help transform the way the world works by connecting people, information and businesses."
Business Objects went public in 1994 and became the first French software company to be listed in the U.S.
Earlier this month, SAP and Business Objects announced the first joint products from the merger, including financial performance management, governance, risk and compliance, and visualization and reporting packages.
