People & Talent

Find out how SAP's most prestigious employee recognition has influenced the careers and thinking of those who have received it. In 2014, SAP CEO Bill McDermott introduced an innovation award which recognizes employees for inspirational and extraordinary achievement that reflects the founders' legacy of innovation, entrepreneurialism, and courage. The award carries the name of Hasso Plattner, who is SAP's current Supervisory Board chairman and inventor of SAP HANA, the in-memory database management system introduced in 2010. SAP News asked selected winners of the Hasso Plattner Founders' Award how the experience had influenced their careers or changed their approach to work, and whether they think it fosters an innovation culture at SAP. The answers were surprising and inspiring.