As a global senior technology and innovation executive, I bring more than two decades of expertise defining successful product, industry, and market strategies for SAP SE, the global leader in enterprise applications and business AI. I was instrumental in transforming SAP from an on-premise to a Cloud company, driving large M&A transactions that provided immediate impact and capabilities.
I built from the ground up and led SAP.iO, SAP’s award-winning global corporate venture and innovation arm with a portfolio of 650+ startups, of which 125+ in the AI space, driving startup innovation, incubation, investments, business development, and strategy. My vast international background and experience in both the corporate and startup spaces and a large startup/innovation ecosystem network helps foster lucrative strategic partnerships. I’m known as a collaborative leader and mentor who builds and inspires large, high-impact teams in more than a dozen countries. I was named “One of 100 Women Moving Germany” by Handelsblatt in 2021 and “Startup Whisperer” by NTV in 2022, and I provide thought leadership as a keynote speaker at major tech conferences including WebSummit, Vivatech, and Inspirefest.
• I built and scaled high-performing teams of 50+ globally with a focus on startup investments and acceleration within SAP. My team leadership skills earned me a NPS score of 100% from direct reports.
• I established SAP.iO as the early-stage innovation arm of all SAP BUs and Industries, building a global portfolio of 650+ early-stage startups, including 125+ AI startups, that has yielded 5 unicorns, 70 exits, and $12.9B+ of cumulative VC funding raised.
• My extensive startup experience outside SAP includes serving as Deputy Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of High-Tech Gründerfonds, Europe’s largest seed investor, as well as co-founding a non-profit driving diversity in the business angel and startup ecosystem.
• I determined the strategy and built a project team to transition SAP from an on-premise to a Cloud company. This achieved 14% YoY growth by creating new organizational structure, and drove acquisitions of Successfactors (€2.6B) and Ariba (€3.4B) that contributed to an increase in Cloud revenue from €20M in 2011 to €1.1B in 2014.