In today’s digital economy, networking is fundamental for success. Relationships based on trust have never been more important and leading companies around the world are tapping the huge potential of networking with their former employees. The new SAP Alumni Network, that launched earlier this year, helps maintain those powerful connections beyond company boundaries. It brings together former and current employees of SAP.
Now, for the first time in SAP's history, I had the pleasure of welcoming a special sub-group, the "global C-Suite Alumni", SAP executive board members, and SAP executives to the SAP Alumni C-Suite Get Together in Walldorf, Germany, in early July. Stefan Ries, SAP's Chief Human Resources Officer, and I kicked off the meeting by welcoming the attendees to the "SAP family":
The objective of this global meeting was to bring together former and current executives so they can cultivate lasting relationships with their peers and leverage the power of the network for their own purposes – and of course SAP. Mutual benefits include business development, brand advocacy, talent recommendations, and network intelligence.
How to Drive Digital Transformation: A Discussion in Progress
The agenda addressed the pressing questions and challenges raised by the digital economy. SAP CFO Luka Mucic outlined the tremendous success of the SAP HANA Platform and how it helped accelerate the pace of innovation over the past few years. Also, he showcased the SAP Digital Boardroom that provides transparency to executives and decision-makers with a comprehensive, real-time view of business performance across an entire company:
Former SAP CEO and president of acatech Henning Kagermann and Torsten Busse, Director at Brunswick Group, discussed in an interview the trends and initiatives of digital transformation. They pointed out that executives recognized that digitalization helps a company transform itself. In fact, they realize that it’s imperative for its future success.
Eventually, in a joint presentation, Rolf Schumann, CTO and Head of Innovation, SAP EMEA/MEE, and Anja Schneider demoed how to create value in the digital world by successfully leveraging big data, analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and much more. We must not forget that new digital business opportunities would pass a company by if it didn’t move quickly, they argued.
Here some more impressions from the C-Suite alumni event:
You can view more photos of the event highlights to get an impression of what has been discussed and shared by our speakers.
See what the community is saying about the SAP Alumni C-Suite Get Together:
“The team produced a wonderful evening that mixed beautiful memories with the great vision for the future of SAP. Thank you for bringing together the spirit of SAP old and new! We are forever part of the same team, regardless of how many years ago we left the building.” – Shai Agassi, CEO of Newrgy
“Many thanks for hosting the great SAP Alumni event on Friday. So, thank you for having me. It was great to be on stage again with Henning.“ – Torsten Busse, Director, Brunswick Group
“I’d like to thank you so much for inviting me to the SAP Alumni event. Also, I greatly appreciate the successful event organization and realization. […] It‘s been an amazing „SAP Family“ evening amongst friends and joined by many new contacts whom you just know from calls or email conversations. Again, thank you and congratulations. I hope the network lives on.” – Dietmar Kilian, Professor & Study Coordinator Business Process Management & Networks
“Thanks again for the fantastic alumni get together. I think this is a great initiative.“ – Andreas Barth, VP and Managing Director EUROCENTRAL, Dassault Systèmes
“Thank you for organizing and hosting such a great event. It was a wonderful event and I re-connected with many former colleagues and got to know some I haven’t talked with.” – Andrej Danko, Founder & CTO/CFO, Shortlist
“Congratulations … I wanted to drop you a quick note of sincere gratitude to you and your team for hosting what I can only say was a privilege and unrivalled event. To have been reacquainted with so many old and new faces was a true delight and testament of why SAP is now where it is today.” – Ray Barratt, Director Supply Chain Transformation, Redwood Software
And read what has been shared on social media
Thomas Saueressig, Chief Information Officer, SAP, on Twitter
Tobias Andersson, Founder and CEO Optimize Consulting AB, on LinkedIn
Rouven Morato, Finance and Analytics Senior Leader, SAP, on Twitter
To receive future communications about what’s going on in the SAP family (e.g. people, news, events), make sure to sign up for the SAP Alumni Network. Membership is free and open for every former and current SAP employee. The advantages of membership are manifold. Plus, become an Alumni champion and spread the word, so the community can attract and engage new members. In return, you’ll be the “chief innovation officer” who helps drive your own company’s commercial success. If you’re a former SAP employee, miss your colleagues or friends and would like to reconnect, just join the community and encourage them to follow you. Thus you all can benefit from relevant community content, exchange ideas, explore opportunities, and collaborate.
Margret Klein-Magar
Head of SAP Alumni Relations
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SAP Alumni (@SAPAlumni) on Twitter
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