SAP CEO McDermott Bets on Millennial Leaders

Nov 5, 2013 7:50 AM ET

Original article by Mohana Ravindranath on The Washington Post

Tech companies should bet on leaders in their 20s or early 30s, who may be more in touch with emerging trends than their older counterparts, the co-chief executive of business software giant SAP recently urged a Northern Virginia technology group.

Speaking at the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s annual banquet Oct. 29, Bill McDermott said his own company is turning to so-called millenials because the technology world is changing fast.

“Eighty percent of the incremental revenue [today] we get is from businesses we were not in three years ago,” he said.

“Where is the world going? It’s going to be mobile — that’s the new desktop. All the data getting created in the Internet of Things will create a complete chaotic storm of ‘how do you manage this?’ ” he said.

McDermott said he recently required SAP’s executive board to engage in “reverse mentorships” with SAP employees usually in their 20’s, who he believes can expose executives to new technology and social networking practices.

Continue reading the orginal article about SAP's social sabbaticals on The Washington Post >>

Original post on The Washington Post.