Life at SAP – with Thomas Borum

Thomas, from Denmark, began his career with SAP in 2012. We spoke to him to find out what his journey has been.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a photographer or an architect due to the fact that both my parents are architects and I grew up in an environment where there were many photographers.

What did you study at college/university?

I studied at DTU, Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby, Denmark. I studied to be a Construction Engineer, which is an engineer who works with building houses, bridges, infrastructure, energy infrastructure.

Later on, I found that I wanted to go into details with Computer Science, so I took a Computer Science education on top of my Engineering Degree at Copenhagen University College of Engineering, which is now part of DTU.

When did you start working at SAP?

I started working at SAP in 2012 when Successfactors got acquired by SAP. We moved to the SAP offices in 2014. At the time I was a Lead Software Engineer. In 2015 I became a Development Manager and this year I became a Senior Engineering Manager.

What qualifications did you need for your current job?

I needed a thorough knowledge of software development, Agile methodologies, business knowledge and of course mainly people management skills.

What do you think are the key skills people need if they are considering a similar career to yours?

I think the key skills required for this role are:

• An understanding of software designing and programming
• Deep knowledge about Agile development methodologies
• Be able to delegate responsibility to your employees
• Always respect the opinions of your employees
• Involve your employees
• Be able to evaluate job applicants and be able to spot talent.

What is important to you at SAP?

It’s important to me to work in a good team with good colleagues. I need to have fun with what I am doing.

What does success look like to you?

We deliver a good product, but we do it with a good work/life balance. People are happy with their jobs.

If you could go back in time and give your 18-year-old-self one piece of career advice what would it be?

Be more interested in Computer Science. I wasn’t at all interested back then!

To see where Life at SAP could take you, click here.