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Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Adrienne Marchetti, executive director of the <keyword id="4553129" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="pawtucket">Pawtucket</keyword> Soup Kitchen, wipes down the tables inside the dining room where meals are served on March 2, 2020. <ul class="summary-list"><li>The new <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1">coronavirus</a> is primarily a respiratory illness, and it typically spreads via airborne droplets from an infected patient's coughs or sneezes.</li><li>Viral particles can survive for a time on surfaces, but the coronavirus' lifespan on surfaces depends on various factors, like temperature and humidity.</li><li>Some human coronaviruses, like SARS, can last for days on surfaces. But one expert says the new coronavirus is more likely to last "hours to a day or so."</li><li>Here are some best practices for disinfecting surfaces.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>The new <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1">coronavirus</a> is a respiratory illness, which means it typically spreads via <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html">airborne droplets</a>. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, droplets carrying viral particles can land on someone else's nose or mouth or get inhaled. But a person can also get the new coronavirus if they touch a surface or object that has viral particles on it then touch their mouth, nose, or eyes, according to the CDC. The exact lifespan of the virus on a surface - a subway pole, stairwell banister, or even money - depends on many factors, including the surrounding temperature, humidity, and type of surface. But the rough range is "likely hours to a day or so," Rachel Graham, an epidemiologist at the <keyword id="390129" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="University-of-North-Carolina">University of North Carolina</keyword>, told Business Insider. <h2>How long the coronavirus survives on surfaces </h2>A <a href="https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(20)30046-3/fulltext">study</a> published this week in the Journal of Hospital Infection looked at the lifespans of other coronaviruses found in humans on various surfaces. The SARS coronavirus - at a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) - lasts for two days on steel; four days on wood and glass; and five days on metal, plastic, and ceramics. (The researchers also found that one strain of SARS lasted up to nine days on a plastic surface at room temperature.) SARS only survives between two and eight hours on aluminum, and less than eight hours on latex. According to Graham, these findings likely apply to the new coronavirus, since smooth, nonporous surfaces like doorknobs and tabletops are better at carrying viruses in general. Porous surfaces - like money, hair, and fabric - do not allow viruses to survive as long because the minute spaces or holes in those materials can trap the microbe and prevent its transfer, Graham said. "Coins will transmit virus better than cash, but this shouldn't be a huge concern," she said. "Basic rule of thumb should be to consider money dirty anyway, because it is. It goes through too many hands not to be." Marco Di Lauro/Getty A man holds coins collected from the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy. Your smartphone, with all its glass and aluminum, can also carry viral particles. Graham said she recommends disinfecting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-how-to-clean-iphone-android-phone-without-damaging-screen-2020-3">your phone</a>, "particularly if it travels to the bathroom with you." <h2>The surrounding temperature makes a big difference</h2>The recent study also revealed that spikes in temperature make a difference in the lifespans of coronaviruses. An 18-degree Fahrenheit jump, from 68 degrees to 86 degrees, decreased how long SARS lasted on steel surfaces by at least half. That's because some coronaviruses, including this new one, have a viral envelope: <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=influenza+capsid&amp;tbm=isch&amp;source=iu&amp;ictx=1&amp;fir=zHCsg_r0Ce-S6M%253A%252CTOUWeLq_3h8_PM%252C_&amp;vet=1&amp;usg=AI4_-kTWW3uGe_zfOpiJws9aYFD3NltH5A&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiNs87Xt9HlAhXCmuAKHY2cAVQQ9QEwAHoECAMQAw#imgrc=-jUgmbryyHWpKM:&amp;vet=1">a fat-layer</a> that protects viral particles when traveling from person-to-person in the air. That sheath can dry out however, which kills the virus. So higher humidity, moderate temperature, low wind, and a solid surface are all good for a coronavirus' survival, Graham said. <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/volunteer-offers-hand-sanitizer-to-passengers-in-light-of-a-news-photo/1198631350?adppopup=true">Willie Siau/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a> A volunteer offers hand sanitizer to passengers who recently arrived in Hong Kong from mainland China after measuring their temperatures, February 4, 2020. This also explains why respiratory viruses are typically <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-outbreak-seasonality-not-disappear-2020-2">seasonal</a>: Cooler temperatures help harden the protective gel-like coating that surrounds the particles. <h2>How to disinfect surfaces</h2>The authors of the recent study noted that human coronaviruses could be "efficiently inactivated" on surfaces within one minute if they're cleaned with solutions containing 62%-71% ethanol alcohol, 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, or 0.1% sodium hypochlorite. "We expect a similar effect against the SARS-CoV-2," they added. (SARS-CoV-2 is the official scientific name of the virus.) WANA (West Asia <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">News</keyword> Agency) via Reuters A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant to sanitize bathrooms in Imam Reza's holy shrine, following the coronavirus outbreak, in Mashhad, Iran on February 27, 2020. Graham said these surface disinfectants could even work within 15 seconds. But she added, "to get the kill rates advertised on the packaging, though, that usually involves waiting for several minutes - between five minutes and six minutes." That duration is probably only essential, however, if you're cleaning a surface in an area inhabited by someone infected. Graham said the important thing when disinfecting a surface is getting the potential infectious dose of the virus below a level that will cause disease. "Most commercial products labeled 'disinfectants' talk about a 99.9% kill rate," she said - that's certainly below the threshold that would make people ill, she added. But alcohol-based hand sanitizer, on the other hand, is not ideal for disinfecting hard surfaces because the alcohol content is not high enough. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo Hand sanitizer is meant to lower how much of the infection is on your hands "without stripping your skin of all its oils and moisture," she said. "Surface disinfectants - like Lysol, bleach - are better for surfaces." <h2>Stop touching your face, and wash your hands</h2>Graham emphasized the importance of washing your hands and not touching your face - those are the best ways to minimize your chances of picking up the coronavirus from surfaces. The recent study concluded that if a person touches a surface on which the influenza A virus lives for 5 seconds, 32% of the virus living on that surface can transfer to their hands. <a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2020%3Anewsml_RC27TE9RK4CY&amp;share=true">Nick Zieminski/Reuters</a> A man with a face mask rides the subway in the Queens borough of New York City, February 2, 2020. "If you're about to eat, fix your makeup, play with the baby, etcetera, wash your hands," she said. She also suggested washing your hair if it gets sneezed on, even though the virus doesn't last very long on it. Of course, the coronavirus can't infect you through your hands, so if you never touch your eyes, nose, mouth, you can avoid infection. Ahn Young-joon/AP A currency trader wearing a face mask watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, March 5, 2020. But that's easier said than done. "Most humans touch their faces several hundreds of times per day, so it's still best to be aware of how clean your hands are," Graham said. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-coronavirus-has-pandemic-potential-says-who-2020-2">The coronavirus has pandemic 'potential' as it spreads in South Korea, Italy, and Iran, according to WHO</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-will-coronavirus-outbreak-end-2020-2">One key indicator will tell us when the coronavirus outbreak is winding down - but we're not seeing it yet</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-in-charts-covid-19-symptoms-spread-deaths-warnings-2020-2">What to know about the coronavirus outbreak in 9 charts and maps</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-death-rate-by-country-2020-3">One chart shows 11 countries' current coronavirus death rates, based on the known number of cases and deaths</a> <a></a>Featured Digital Health Articles: - <a>Telehealth Industry: Benefits, Services &amp; Examples</a> - <a>Value-Based Care Model: Pay-for-Performance Healthcare</a> - <a>Senior Care &amp; Assisted Living Market Trends</a> - <a>Smart Medical Devices: Wearable Tech in Healthcare</a> - <a>AI in Healthcare</a> - <a>Remote Patient Monitoring Industry: Devices &amp; Market Trends</a> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-myths-debunked-wuhan-china-2020-2">Pathologists debunk 13 myths about the coronavirus, including why masks won't help</a></h3> <pre style="display: none;">function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</pre>

The new coronavirus lives on surfaces for "hours to a day," one expert says. Here's how to disinfect them properly.

It has been backed by research that companies with a relatively high percentage of women in power perform better than those dominated by men. It is a proven theory as most of the women-focused funds and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Investmentseries-part-1-What-is-a-mutual-fund/articleshow/46329466.cms">investment strategies</a> - a tiny slice of the $6.6 trillion-socially responsible investing world - have been standout performers over the years.
 

	Baron's Women &amp; Girls Equality Strategy, offered to private banking clients, outperformed its benchmark in 2013 and 2014, though it's slightly under so far this year.
 

	Several global<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Which-One-Is-Better-InvestmentIn-Mutual-Funds-Or-Direct-Investment-Into-Stocks/articleshow/27116001.cms"> mutual funds </a>with a similar emphasis were bringing in double-digit returns until the recent market swoon.
 Managers including Baron and Eve Ellis, who runs <keyword id="48670" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Morgan-Stanley">Morgan Stanley</keyword>'s Parity Portfolio, say they're winning converts with their approaches. They point to a decade's worth of studies, notably <keyword id="149208" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="McKinsey-Co">McKinsey &amp; Co</keyword>'s first Women Matter report in 2007 that suggest there's money to be made in stocks of companies with a lot of women in top jobs. When gender-lens stock picking is done the right way, Ellis told Bloomberg, "You don't need to sacrifice financial returns for social returns." 

	70% millennials are saying they'd be likely to make <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Your-first-Mutual-Fund-investment-de-jargoned/articleshow/47039661.cms">investments based on social issues</a>, such as gender equality, according to a 2013 study by <keyword id="3051290" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Calvert-Investments-Inc-And-US-Trust">Calvert Investments Inc. And US Trust</keyword> data show 71% of high net-worth women consider socially-responsible criteria when deciding where to put their money. 

	Most of the funds try to capture the types of returns the McKinsey report says women in leadership roles can bring. But in South Korea, UBS Hana's She&amp;Style concentrates on companies that make "products appealing to female consumers", including cell phones and makeup.
 

	That approach is "really kind of a stretch" to include in the gender-lens investing world, said Barbara Krumsiek, senior industry fellow of Georgetown University's Women's Leadership Institute and a former chief executive officer (CEO) of Calvert.. That might not matter to every one: She&amp;Style has earned an 18%return this year, with holdings in cluding Amorepacific Corp, a maker of skin-care products, and Hanssem Co, which makes kitchen furniture.
 Among major holdings at the end of June were advertiser <keyword id="226149" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Publicis-Groupe">Publicis Groupe</keyword>, whose chairman and six of 15 other directors are women, and insurer <keyword id="152119" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="AXA">Axa</keyword>, where the COO and five of 14 board members are female. But Hostache and CPG fund manager Caroline Grinda also buy stakes in firms like Etam Developpement, a lingerie retailer whose shares are up about 25% this year. 
	 
	(Image credits: Indiatimes)

Money making women-focused funds raises eyebrows

Members of <keyword id="10591" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="samsung" source="Orion">Samsung</keyword> Group's owning family are set to sell nearly 2.6 trillion won ($2 billion) worth of shares in Samsung affiliates to cover inheritance taxes, a regulatory filing showed on Sunday. Since the death of late Samsung Chairman <keyword id="208877" type="General" weightage="10" keywordseo="lee-kun-hee" source="Orion">Lee Kun-hee</keyword> in October 2020, his family members have been paying inheritance taxes in instalments for the assets inherited according to a five-year plan. The total <keyword id="472491" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="inheritance-tax" source="Orion">inheritance tax</keyword> amounted to 12 trillion won, reports Yonhap news agency. According to the regulatory filing with the Financial Supervisory Service, Hong Ra-hee, the widow of Lee, and his two daughters -- Hotel Shilla Co. CEO Lee Boo-jin and <keyword id="19402350" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="samsung-welfare-foundation" source="Orion">Samsung Welfare Foundation</keyword>'s chief Lee Seo-hyun -- signed a deal last Tuesday entrusting share disposal to Hana Bank. Under the deal aimed at "inheritance tax payment," Hana Bank is required to dispose of a 0.32 per cent share Hong has in Samsung Electronics and a combined 0.18 per cent share owned by the two daughters in the firm by April 30, 2024. The Samsung Electronics shares up for sale amount to about 2.08 trillion won when the latest market closing price of 69,600 won per share is applied. The Hotel Shilla CEO also signed an additional deal entrusting the sale of her shares, which include a 0.65 per cent share in Samsung C&amp;T Corp., a 1.95 per cent share in Samsung SDS Co. and a 1.16 per cent share in Samsung Life Insurance. The combined value of the shares is 499.3 billion won.

Samsung family members selling $2 bn worth shares to cover inheritance taxes

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tobacco lobbyists are taking <keyword id="6355117" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="south-africa">South Africa</keyword>'s government to court this week over a controversial ban on the sale of <keyword id="44081" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cigarettes">cigarettes</keyword> implemented as part of its strategy for dealing with the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic.</li><li>South Africa banned the sale of cigarettes in March as the coronavirus' spread intensified, in one of the most extreme public <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> measures introduced anywhere around the world in the pandemic.</li><li>A tobacco black market now thrives in South Africa as smokers find ways around the ban.</li><li>A lobby group called the Fair-trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) has already taken the government to court once to challenge the ban.</li><li>It lost that case, but will now bring an appeal to the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.</li></ul>Tobacco lobbyists are taking South Africa's government to court this week over a controversial ban on the sale of cigarettes implemented as part of its strategy for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.South Africa, Africa's second-largest economy, has effectively banned smoking by making the sale of tobacco illegal in one of the most drastic public health measures introduced anywhere around the world during the pandemic.The unprecedented ban has been in place since March. It has already been subject to a legal challenge from the tobacco industry, with a lobby group called the Fair-trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) bringing proceedings against the South African government over the ban.That challenge was rejected, but it will <a href="http://fita.co.za/fita-statement-09-july-2020/">now be subject to an appeal from FITA on Wednesday July 15.</a>FITA, which has spearheaded anti-tobacco ban efforts in South Africa during the pandemic, is contending that cigarettes and other tobacco products are essential items, a point of view with which the South African government disagrees.The lobbyists argue that their case against banning cigarette sales has been strengthened by plans to allow restaurants, casinos, and cinemas to reopen as South Africa gradually eases out of one of the strictest coronavirus lockdowns in the world."It makes no sense," said Sinenhlanhla Mnguni, FITA's chairman, <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusbangivestobaccoillegaldrugstatusinSouthAfrica/cc92c6533ae9a631a3bb4b15e66446f8/text?Query=Botswana&amp;mediaType=text&amp;sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&amp;dateRange=Anytime&amp;totalCount=3&amp;currentItemNo=1&amp;currentItemNo=1">told the Associated Press (AP) earlier in July.</a>South Africa's government had also banned the sale of alcohol but has since eased that restriction, which according to an AP report, has led to an increase in "drunken brawls and traffic accidents, putting added strain on hospitals as they deal with the virus."<div type="image" title="FILE PHOTO: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visits the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment facilities at the NASREC Expo Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa April 24, 2020. Jerome Delay/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo" height="1821" width="3642" msid="76927958" hostid="261"></div>FITA is also arguing that by banning the legal sale of cigarettes, the South African government is encouraging a black market trade, and putting thousands of jobs at risk."The simple truth is that the current situation cannot be endured for much longer by the various role-players along the tobacco industry value chain without severe consequences for all," FITA said in a statement in April."Allowing the current situation to continue indefinitely will in all likelihood lead to job losses," it added.According to numerous reports, the ban has led to a huge spike in the trade of illegal, often counterfeit tobacco products, as South Africa's 9 million smokers have been forced to innovate to get their nicotine fix.<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/ban-gives-tobacco-illegal-drug-status-in-south-africa/2020/07/02/ad3c2256-bc31-11ea-97c1-6cf116ffe26c_story.html">AP also quoted analysts</a> who said that cigarettes had become the most sought after illicit drug in South Africa, more profitable than cocaine and heroin.In May, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-52772186">the BBC spoke to Michelle, </a>who said she now buys cigarettes via an underground WhatsApp group."[The ban] allows all underground sellers and places that were already cheating on taxes to flourish," Hana Ross, an economist at the University of Cape Town, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/5a5d3511-e5fa-4b04-b02e-800218de4cba">told the Financial Times earlier in July</a>.Nor is the ban encouraged smokers to quit. A survey of more than 12,000 smokers by the University of Cape Town found that 90% of them bought cigarettes illegally during lockdown, AP reported.Alongside FITA's legal challenge, British American Tobacco — which owns brands including Dunhill, Lucky Strike, and Pall Mall — is also bringing court proceedings against the South African government. That case will not be heard until August.

South Africa's 9 million smokers were faced with cold turkey when the government banned cigarette sales in March as a coronavirus measure. Now Big Tobacco is fighting back.

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">ReutersFormer SAP CEO Bill McDermott</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>SAP CEO Bill McDermott shocked the software world on Thursday by announcing his resignation, effective immediately.</li><li>The resignation comes six months after activist investor Elliott Management announced that it had taken a stake in SAP, and after the company agreed to some of its demands to improve profitability. </li><li>McDermott says he 'enjoyed' working with Elliott but he made the decision not to renew his contract, up in 2020, all the same.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module%3Darticle%26area%3Dsummary&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1570910515498000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFRlE62fwd5qOlW4ZyIgTK0K-1sXw">Click here for more BI Prime stories.</a></li></ul>SAP CEO Bill McDermott shocked the software world by announcing on Thursday his resignition, effective immediately, when SAP pre-announced its third-quarter earnings this week."I've been with SAP 17 years and I've been CEO for 10 and that's a long time," McDermott <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/10/11/saps-bill-mcdermott-explains-his-decision-to-step-down-as-ceo.html">told CNBC on Friday.</a> "At the beginning of 2020 I would have had to announce a decision to renew my contract or not renew. I made the determination I wasn't going to renew, so right now was the perfect time to make this transition."He also told CNBC that he had not been at war with Elliott Management, the activist shareholder company that had taken a position in the company earlier this year, and that had pressured SAP into making changes in the name of profitability."Elliott management has been an excellent investor and an excellent advisor. We have many excellent investors and advisors. Elliott has been a total positive and I've enjoyed my interactions very much. That may be contrary to what some people have experienced, but that's my experience," he said.SAP has returned to the co-CEO structure it employed when he first took over in 2004. Its new CEOs are SAP Executive Board Members Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein.Morgan, 48, was running the Cloud Business Group, overseeing Qualtrics, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass, SAP Customer Experience and SAP Concur. Klein, 39, was chief operating officer, overseeing product development for the flagship ERP solution SAP S/4HANA.McDermott, the charismatic self-made sales guy-turned-chief exec, had pushed the German company - the world's largest <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="enterprise">enterprise</keyword> software maker - kicking and screaming into the new world of cloud computing. But he did so at a literal cost. McDermott bought his way into cloud revenue with one multi-billion acquisition after another.Under his leadership, SAP bought expense management software provider Concur for $8.3 billion, HR software company SuccessFactors for $3.4 billion and Callidus, a developer of sales performance management tools, for $2.4 billion.One of his biggest deals came a year ago, when he acquired market research and survey software company Qualtrics last year for $8 billion a year ago, right before its IPO. Qualtrics and SAP are trying to build a new category of software called experience management - McDermott was so excited about the acquisition, he started to sign his emails "XO," representing Qualtrics eXperience management + SAP's operational financial software.Read: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-oracle-hiring-2000-cloud-division-layoffs-2019-10">Oracle is hiring 2,000 people for its cloud business after laying off untold thousands earlier this year, and an insider explains why it's a smart strategy</a>And SAP's revenue did and stock price did grow under McDermott, who was able to sell the story of how SAP was pushing itself into new frontiers. But he was also regularly criticised for spending too much for too little value, eating up profits along the way.<h2>Acquisitions raised eyebrows</h2>McDermott was SAP's first American CEO. He joined SAP in 2002 as head of North American sales. In 2010, he had vaulted into the co-CEO role with then-head of product development, Jim Hagemann Snabe. Four years later, he took over as sole CEO.The choice to go with the American to lead the German company was controversial internally, sources at the time told Business Insider. SAP is lead by an executive board, but the true political power of the company still resides with its founder and chairman, Hasso Plattner. Plattner supported McDermott and his bold plans to grow SAP's cloud business through big, headline-grabbing acquisitions, sources told us over the years.But the German company is, at its roots, a conservative accounting and financial software company and McDermott <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-concur-tech-sap-se-m-a/sap-buys-expenses-software-maker-concur-for-7-3-billion-idUSKBN0HD2N220140919">faced regular criticism</a> over the prices SAP paid for these multi-billion acquisitions, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-12/sap-has-to-prove-this-8-billion-deal-is-worth-it">particularly Qualtrics</a>.Investors began to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/sap-may-need-a-massive-buyback-to-sing-elliotts-tune/2019/04/24/accb1ade-6692-11e9-a698-2a8f808c9cfb_story.html">grumble for bigger profits</a>, as they are wont to do. Last April, activist investor Elliott Management announced a stake in SAP, after <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-24/sap-elliott-are-said-to-have-held-strategy-talks-for-months">months of negotiations with the company.</a> Elliott is famous for buying a stake and pressuring companies to do better for shareholders, sometimes <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-24/sap-elliott-are-said-to-have-held-strategy-talks-for-months">even resulting in the resignations of the CEOs. </a>SAP agreed to the formation of a Special Executive Board Committee and to a set of new, multi-year operational targets. Elliott put out <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190423006031/en/Elliott-Management-Supportive-SAP-Initiatives">a press release of support</a> for SAP generally and McDermott specifically.Back in April, SAP also agreed to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/sap-may-need-a-massive-buyback-to-sing-elliotts-tune/2019/04/24/accb1ade-6692-11e9-a698-2a8f808c9cfb_story.html">a special investors meeting in November</a> to detail its plans to investors.<h2>McDermott's resignation comes from a position of strength</h2>However, McDermott's immediate resignation comes on the heels of a better than expected quarter, <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/3505177-sap-se-eps-beats-0_11-beats-revenue?part=single">beating expectations</a> on both revenue and EPS. It's operating margin, at nearly 25% was up by almost 2 points for the quarter. But the year-to-date operating margin was at 12%, a decline over previous years, <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/SAP/sap-se/profit-margins">according to MacroTrends.</a>On Thursday, the company <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sap-pre-announces-outstanding-third-quarter-results-300936931.html">also reiterated its full year expectations</a> and announced "Ambition 2023," its financial goals for the next few years. These include tripling cloud revenue and increasing overall revenue while also achieving a cloud gross margin of 75% and growing operating margin by 1% per year.So SAP wants to grow vastly grow its cloud revenue while increasing profits, and the flamboyant deal-maker McDermott has bowed out to let them do it. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-are-heel-spurs-donald-trump-vietnam-deferments-jacqueline-sutera-2017-8">A podiatrist explains heel spurs, the medical condition Trump said earned him a medical deferment from Vietnam</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

SAP CEO Bill McDermott resigned six months after activist investor Elliott elbowed in

Colliers InternationalGil Borok, CEO and president of Colliers' US business<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gil Borok, the CEO and president of Colliers' US business, told Business Insider that tech has enabled, instead of disrupted, the commercial real estate business. </li><li>He outlined Colliers' priorities in the US market in 2020. The company, the smallest of the Big Four commercial real estate brokerage and service firms, is looking to use that size as an advantage to grow its book of business. </li><li>Borok also gave a rundown of the largest commercial real estate trends of the year, from flex-office to the rise of industrial.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime">Read more BI Prime stories here.</a></li></ul>Gil Borok became the CEO and president of Colliers' US business in December 2019, ascending to the position after two years as its COO.Prior to his time at Colliers, he spent 15 years at one of the firms' largest competitors in the commercial services and brokerage business, CBRE. But he says that Colliers' relatively smaller size is an asset. "Compared to CBRE, there's an entrepreneurial approach to what we do, and a lot of opportunity to grow a platform," Borok told Business Insider. Borok said that those opportunities lie in the areas of recruiting or training more seasoned brokers, growing Colliers' occupier servicing business, and continuing to expand its capital markets business after last month's acquisition of <a href="https://www.rejournals.com/colliers-acquires-subsidiaries-of-dougherty-financial-group-20191220">four subsidiaries of the Dougherty Financial Group</a>. But one potential opportunity that he didn't highlight was technology, though Colliers has been dabbling in the buzzy real-estate tech space for a while now, with the firm running its PropTech Accelerator with Techstars twice since beginning in 2018.While Borok sees tech continuing to play a major role in real estate, he doesn't think that it will truly disrupt the industry by replacing commercial brokers. "No one is buying a million-square-foot tower online," he said. Instead, Borok said that tech will enable those that already work in the field. <h3>Tech's place in commercial real estate</h3>Borok said that, a decade ago, "the question was: is tech going to be a disruptor to the industry or not?"He says that, up to now, tech hasn't disrupted real estate as a whole, even accounting for changes in the residential space, and instead has added ways for the incumbents to do more for their clients. "To compete effectively and to add value to their clients and use their time efficiently, you need to have tech," Borok said. He gave the ability to give electronic and mobile presentations, collect and analyze much larger amounts of data, and have functioning customer-relationship management (CRM) as some of the biggest examples of where this is true. He noted that CRM, by facilitating client relationships, is also an efficient way to provide data. "We have data our clients don't have, that's our value," Borok said. These technologies may seem incremental compared to the promised high-tech world of virtual reality, AI, and fully automated smart buildings, but in a slow-moving field like real estate, they can have an outsize impact. "Technology is here to stay," Borok said. "It's an enabler, and we have to embrace it."But for Borok, embracing it doesn't mean making a big bet on a technology in the hopes of an eventual payout. "A winner, to me, is a product that we can embrace, help develop and bring to our clients to add value to them," Borok said.Collier's competition is also actively investing in tech and integrating it into their business.CBRE has run a PropTech Challenge competition since 2017 and announced its first-flexible workspace location for its Hana brand last year.JLL has invested heavily in proptech through its JLL Spark fund, and last year announced the creation of JLL Technologies, which will bring JLL Spark's leaders to JLL's global executive board. Cushman and Wakefield has partnered with VCs like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/proptech-vc-fifth-wall-raised-503-million-in-newest-fund-2019-7">Fifth Wall</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/defining-proptech-with-metaprop-as-investment-and-eyeballs-surge-2019-11">MetaProp</a> to invest in proptech. <h3>CRE in 2020</h3>While technology may not have disrupted how commercial real estate brokerages operate, it's impact on other parts of the economy has influenced the kind of work that Colliers and its competitors focus on. The rise of ecommerce has led to a renewed interest in industrial real estate near city centers, which Borok calls "the blending of retail and industrial." This has led <a href="https://www.us.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights/research/industrial-market-statistics-trends">industrial real estate prices to surge from their 2010 lows</a>. Borok believes that developers, noticing this trend, will begin to develop more "last mile" industrial property to match surging demand. And that could have a negative impact on brick-and-mortar retail, forcing retailers to either focus on experiences or leave their landlords to convert retail spaces into medical and office space.Borok has also been watching <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-new-office-in-nyc-2019-12">tech companies expand</a> their operations, and believes that Colliers can service a bigger proportion of that industry. Flexible-office space, which often touts itself as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weworks-ipo-filing-showcases-its-real-estate-risks-ipo-2019-8">a tech-enabled real estate business</a>, is here to stay, according to Borok, as occupiers continue to want part of their portfolio to be flexible. He attributes at least some of this to coworking giant WeWork."There's an argument to be made that landlords can't or have not historically made the spaces as exciting as WeWork," Borok said. He noted that some of the big landlords in New York, like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/we-got-a-look-at-tishman-speyers-nyc-coworking-space-2019-11">Tishman Speyer</a>, are now creating their own flex-space. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-lion-king-trailer-disney-movie-wrong-animal-kingdom-lions-2019-4">5 facts about the animal kingdom that Golden Globe-nominated 'The Lion King' ignored</a></h3>

The US CEO of Colliers, one of the Big 4 commercial real-estate service providers and brokerages, says tech is more of an enabler than a disruptor for the industry

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