CEO of SAP Speaks at Smith School Speakers Series
Bill McDermott, the CEO of SAP, spoke to an audience of students, alumni, faculty and staff at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. He was there as part of CEO @ Smith, a speaker series designed to connect members of the Smith community with leading business practitioners and innovators.
McDermott spoke to the more than 250 people in attendance, sharing advice and anecdotes, e.g., his first entrepreneurial venture, his most memorable sale, his overhaul of the worst branch at Xerox, and his current position at SAP, etc.
As the CEO of SAP — the largest enterprise cloud company in the world with business networks that transact nearly $1 trillion in commerce annually — McDermott unveiled a strategy in 2014 to help businesses of all sizes run efficiently in the digital economy.
“Companies don’t want to buy software, they want to buy an outcome. They want their business to run better,” he explained. “We were just talking about the technology. We had to change that. So we created a customer focus for SAP and completely changed the culture.”
In addition to sharing his life experience and advice, McDermott aimed to inspire those who were there to hear him speak.
“When you get knocked down, what are you going to do when it is time for you to get back up again? Get up, get out and get on with it. You can make it through the worst things and they can become the best things.”
The next event in the series will be on April 26, 2016. It is set to feature Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott.
About the Author
Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
