Prateek Mathur, Head of Marketing at SAP, talks to The Ortus Club about his transition from a technical web developer to a regional marketing leader at the “Mecca of business applications.” Prateek argues that modern marketing is an exercise in unification, balancing strategy, execution, and creativity to navigate an increasingly non-linear buyer journey. He emphasises that as buying committees grow to 15 people, the most successful leaders are those who seek high-level peer dialogue to reimagine the marketing function through AI.
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Executive Summary: Key Takeaways
- The Techno-Functional Pivot: Success in marketing stems from a techno-functional curiosity, understanding not just how to build a tool, but how it drives an entire organisation.
- The “Business Yogi” Philosophy: Marketing is the unification of the Mind (strategy), Body (execution), and Soul (innovation). Balance between the three is the key to sustainable growth.
- Non-Linear Buyer Journeys: With 70% of research done before vendor engagement, marketers must shift to B2C-style persona targeting to reach the 10–15 stakeholders in every committee.
- Experiential Proof: Moving from technical upgrades to business transformations requires experiential marketing, such as live simulations that allow leaders to feel the technology’s impact.
- The AI Reimagination: Leaders must ask if they are merely applying new tools to old processes or truly transforming the fundamental operating model of the marketing function.
Prateek Mathur’s career began in the lines of code as a web developer. However, a business application bug quickly pushed him toward the broader puzzle of how global enterprises actually run. After mastering the nuances of industry marketing at Microsoft, he landed at SAP, where he found his passion, his ikigai. Today, Prateek acts as the conduit between global strategy and field execution across Asia-Pacific and Japan. He believes that customers are the true heroes of the story, and his role is to ensure their transformations are told with the precision of a technician and the spirit of a “Business Yogi.”
How does a developer’s mindset help lead marketing at SAP?
Prateek explains his transition from impacting one customer at a time in pre-sales to impacting entire industries through marketing.
“My journey into marketing was driven by curiosity. I began as a developer but wanted to understand how technology helps organisations actually run. I became a techno-functional consultant and eventually moved into pre-sales. In pre-sales, I was impacting one customer at a time. However, I noticed a group of smart people called marketers who were impacting entire industries and segments at once. I fell in love with that enormous scale and creativity. Marketing is where I found my passion, my Ikigai. It allows me to be the conduit between global strategy and field execution while ensuring our messaging is localised and relevant.”
What is the “Business Yogi” philosophy of leadership?
Prateek defines the role of the CMO as a balancing act between the mind, body, and soul of an organisation.
“If I have to define our role in one word, it is a ‘Business Yogi.’ In Yoga, the word means ‘unification’ of body, mind, and soul. From a business standpoint, the Mind is our strategy, the Body is our execution, and the Soul is the spirit of creativity and innovation. Marketing is the amalgamation of these three aspects. It’s about balancing strategy with execution while keeping that creative spark alive. If you lose the balance, the execution becomes soulless, or the strategy remains a dream. You have to unify them to drive customer adoption and advocacy.”
Why must B2B marketers start thinking like B2C marketers?
Addressing the challenge of large buying committees, Prateek argues that faceless organisations are a thing of the past.
“The decision-making process is becoming increasingly non-linear. Buying committees are growing larger, with the average size now between 10 and 15 people. Research shows that almost 70% of the buyer’s journey is completed before they even engage with a vendor. Opportunities often stall because an important stakeholder was ignored early on. As B2B marketers, we have to start thinking more like B2C marketers. We need to look at individual personas, their aspirations, and their goals rather than just treating the customer as a faceless organisation. You have to reach the individual within the committee.”
How do you turn a technical upgrade into a live league?
Prateek shares the success of the S/4HANA launch, where a 90-minute simulation proved the power of business transformation.
“We needed to prove to customers that S/4HANA wasn’t just a technical upgrade, but a full business transformation. We created the ‘Live Business League,’ which was a business simulation competition. Cross-functional teams, CFOs, operations heads, and procurement leads, ran a fictitious organisation for a ‘quarter,’ compressed into 90 minutes. The twist was that they didn’t know they were running the simulation on a live S/4HANA system. When we revealed that at the end, their faces were priceless. It had a huge impact on pipe acceleration because they had experienced the power of the technology firsthand in a fun, aspirational way.”
Is your team reimagining processes or just using AI tools?
In a final challenge to fellow leaders, Prateek discusses the “flywheel effect” and the future of HR data.
“I ask this of myself every day: ‘Am I reimagining the entire marketing function with AI?’ We must constantly question whether we are just using new tools for old processes or truly transforming how we work. At SAP SuccessFactors, we are focused on a flywheel effect, bringing the intuitive, AI-powered experience of apps like Uber into the workplace. HR is no longer just a system of records; it is a rich layer of people data topped with Generative AI agents. Success is about ensuring every employee is a success story by making HR systems as helpful as a navigation app.”
Join the Conversation: The Ortus Club’s Executive Network
Across Prateek’s insights on the “Business Yogi,” non-linear buyer journeys, and the AI flywheel, one pattern is clear: these challenges aren’t solved in isolation. They require a peer-level perspective and the kind of high-trust dialogue that transcends the typical vendor-client relationship.
His vision of the conduit leader reflects a broader reality: today’s marketing and regional heads cannot rely on old messaging frameworks alone. The most effective executives, especially those managing the digital transformation of the mid-market, actively seek out peer dialogue as a strategic necessity to unify their strategy and execution.
At The Ortus Club, we host curated executive roundtables that bring together senior leaders facing these exact challenges. Step away from the faceless demand plans and engage in the kind of open, high-value conversations that help you find your ikigai and reimagine the future of business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the “Business Yogi” concept?
A: It is a marketing philosophy that advocates for the unification of strategy (Mind), execution (Body), and innovation (Soul) to create a balanced and effective business approach.
Q: Why are B2B buying committees growing?
A: As technology becomes more integrated across departments, decisions that once only affected IT now impact Finance, HR, and Operations, leading to 10–15 stakeholders in a single decision-making unit.
Q: What is a techno-functional consultant?
A: A professional who possesses both deep technical knowledge (e.g., coding or system architecture) and a strong understanding of how those systems serve specific business functions and goals.
Q: How does the buyer’s journey change in 2026?
A: It is highly non-linear and research-heavy. 70% of the journey happens anonymously through digital research and peer reviews before a buyer ever speaks to a salesperson.
Q: How does AI transform HR from a system of record?
A: By adding a layer of Generative AI and intelligent agents on top of employee data, HR systems move from being static databases to active navigational tools that help employees grow and scale.
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