Hasso Plattner

Hasso Plattner’s focus on innovation has guided his engagement across technology, art, and philanthropy. As a co-founder of SAP in 1972, he played a defining role in software engineering. Under his leadership and that of his founding partners, SAP developed software that transformed how businesses manage their operations worldwide.
His striving for excellence is evident not only in his business approach but also in his philanthropic projects. Hasso Plattner’s engagement in education is deeply personal, stemming from his gratitude towards public education, which played a key role in his achievements. This appreciation drove his engagement in the educational space leading to the establishment of the Hasso Plattner Foundation in 2015. 

Hasso Plattner was born in Berlin in 1944. He moved to the South of Germany shortly before graduating from high school and studied Communications Engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), graduating in 1968. In that same year, he started working as a program developer at IBM Germany in Mannheim. In 1972, Hasso Plattner, along with four former IBM colleagues, founded the enterprise software company SAP. Their concept of a standard software running on proprietary hardware gained widespread demand. When the company went public in 1988, Hasso Plattner was appointed Deputy Chair of the Executive Board and served as CEO from 1997 to 2003.

In 2003, Hasso Plattner stepped back from SAP’s day-to-day operations and joined the Supervisory Board as its Chair until May 2024. Under his guidance, SAP became one of Germany’s most valuable companies and still holds that position today, employing more than 100.000 people worldwide. To this day he is known for his ambition to successfully combine business and science as well as for future-oriented research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

In 1998, Hasso Plattner founded the Hasso Plattner Institute for Software Systems Engineering (HPI) at the University of Potsdam. He played an active role in research and teaching as the head of the department “Enterprise Platform and Integration Concepts” until spring 2023, contributing to numerous ground-breaking innovations. One of his most significant contributions at the HPI is the research into in-memory data management, which led to the creation of the HANA database technology. In 2012, this technology received both the German Innovation Award and the Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Award.

In 2007, Hasso Plattner expanded the HPI to include the HPI School of Design Thinking. Here, advanced students from all disciplines can learn how to work in multidisciplinary teams to develop innovative products and services for various areas of life. In 2010, the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University in California was established to prepare a generation of innovators to address complex challenges.

In 2013, Hasso Plattner joined the Giving Pledge initiative of Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, committing to donate most of his wealth to philanthropic causes. After signing the Giving Pledge, he established the independent philanthropic Hasso Plattner Foundation in 2015.

Hasso Plattner holds a profound passion for collecting and sharing art. He began collecting art around the time of SAP’s IPO, resulting in an impressive private art collection, focusing on Impressionism, Expressionism, and modern art. To share his enthusiasm for art with the public, Hasso Plattner established the Museum Barberini in Potsdam in 2017, which has become one of the most visited art museums in Germany.

Combining his love for art and his technical expertise, he initiated and co-founded the Wildenstein Plattner Institute (WPI) in New York City. The WPI is dedicated to the study of art history and strives to enhance the accessibility, cataloging, and digitization of archival materials supporting critical research in the field.

Hasso Plattner has been an invaluable supporter of the Foundation’s acquisition of the former Café Minsk in Potsdam, an almost-lost architectural and historical landmark. The Foundation has transformed it into DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam, a modern museum focused on contemporary art, creating a fresh and modernized landmark for Potsdam, adding yet another cultural highlight to the city.

Throughout his career, Hasso Plattner was awarded for his entrepreneurial spirit, technological expertise, and dedication to business, research, and science. Notable among these awards are:
 

• the Werner von Siemens Ring in recognition of his life’s work as an engineer. “As the founder of SAP, Hasso Plattner had a decisive influence on Germany as a business location and built bridges between science and research, industry and politics.”;
• the Leibniz Medal for his “equally extraordinary and exemplary commitment”;
• the “Information Technology Leadership Award for Global Integration” from the Computerworld Smithsonian Awards program in recognition of his pivotal role as the principal architect of SAP’s R/3 system;
• the Order of Merit of the State of Brandenburg;
• the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany;
• the Leonardo European Corporate Learning Award in the “Thought Leadership” category;
• the Lifetime Achievement Award of the German American Business Association (GABA);
• the Prize for Understanding and Tolerance from the Jewish Museum Berlin for his philanthropic activities promoting science as well as for his entrepreneurial innovation and social and cultural projects;
• honorary citizenship of Potsdam, the capital of the State of Brandenburg.

We believe that education is the key to shaping a better future. Our philanthropic projects aspire to educate the next generation of innovators and digital leaders of Europe, support environmental conservation, and use art to inspire.