Humans of SAPsv: Week 9

Director, HANA Platform Adoption
@MargaretLaffan

Senior Project Financial Analyst

@m_lee25

What are you passionate about at SAP?
I love helping to build new businesses. I worked almost two years to build HANA to over a $1B business and now helping to launch and grow HCP. I’m right in the middle of making HCP a huge success–how fun is that! I also love that SAP enables me to invest in people–helping the people I work with to reach their potential–and creating a team atmosphere, so we can accomplish much more than we can individually. That is extremely satisfying, too, and makes me get up early and stay up late!

What was the first program you were involved in at SAP?Successfully bringing the Sybase Product set into the SAP family and launching the Real Time Data Platform. We initially created a full database management platform product set that included all the traditional Sybase Products along with HANA. In addition, we have been wildly successful with ASE under Business Suite. Since Business Suite and ASE have been certified to work together, ASE has been successfully deployed at literally thousands of customers. The keys to this success are three fundamental things: a great product marketing team, collegial product management colleagues, and great products. I have been fortunate to be blessed with all three, and these things more than anything else, have contributed to any success I have experienced in my career at SAP. 

What is something not many people know about you?
I love to stand up paddleboard (SUP). I enjoy being on the paddleboard to get out into nature and get a great core workout at the same time. Favorite spots for SUP are Tahoe (of course), and Lake Del Valle in Livermore. Quiet, peaceful and beautiful, especially at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday. I also did a and did a 10-mile race at Lake Tahoe two years ago.

What is your favorite movie? Adaptation (2002). The metanarrative is mind blowing. It’s a quirky movie about a real-life person, Charlie Kaufman, trying to adapt a book called “The Orchid Thief” into a movie. If you want to understand how the metanarratives of movies work–or don’t work in this case–rent Adaptation, you will enjoy it immensely.

Outside of SAP leading the way, our great technology, business knowledge, and talented people, I am passionate about how we, as a company, can change people’s lives. Last year, I spent a month in Colombia via the Social Sabbatical program. We worked with an NGO that needed both sales and marketing consultants to develop the next stage of their business plan. To participate firsthand in making a difference with a company that was directly changing people’s lives by offering income opportunities and a better quality of life was many things, including humbling, rewarding, and very exciting.

What’s your favorite thing about working at SAP?
The diverse workforce & strong relationships we form with each other (professionally and personally). I also love what the Palo Alto location offers; we have a great cafeteria, super friendly staff, flexible working arrangements, and nice facilities.

If you could have one super power, what would it be?
We live in an unequal world…my super power would be to grant equality of opportunity to all. Everybody matters.

What’s your favorite TV Series?
When my sister moved to South Korea years ago she got me hooked on Korean Soap Operas. They can be quite dramatic, and I have lots of favorites…too many to mention here!

What’s your favorite thing about working at SAP?
Currently, my role in the West Delivery team is to service our customers. My favorite is that we have all different kinds of resources and products to help each of our customers solve their pain points and grow. It is awesome to be at a company where we have the tools to succeed, which is my favorite part about working at SAP.

What’s something not many people would know about you?
By the age of 20, I managed two restaurants. I started out as a dishwasher. What I learned was it’s not where you start, it’s where you will end up and having a passion in customer service and food helps.

If you could do anything you wanted right now, what would it be and why?
I would go live and work abroad at various SAP locations. Being a curious person, I look forward to meeting and learning from other SAP colleagues around the world.