Bill McDermott, co-CEO, SAP, comes from an utterly modest background. By the age of 16Bill was an entrepreneur, and it shows the spark he had in him. Starting his career as an employee of a restaurant with a job profile of clearing away dishes, setting tables and assisting servers, and next assignment as an assistant in a grocery shop, he had the meteoric rise to the coveted position of co-CEO of SAP by dint of seer business acumen. He was born on 18th August 1961 in New York, United States,
Early Life and Education
Bill McDermott had a humble beginning so far as his early days are concerned. He lived with his parents in Amityville in close proximity of Great South Bay, and the area boasted of several canals that used to flood houses including that of McDermott. He had to wade through water to attend the interview for a job with Xerox.
McDermott is an MBA in Business Management which he obtained from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management under Northwestern University. He also underwent Executive Development Program successfully from Wharton School under the University of Pennsylvania, and it was from Dowling College that he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.
The Spark
The career of Bill McDermott has had a meteoric rise from a helper in an Italian restaurant at 16 years of age to an entrepreneur as an owner of a deli where he first exhibited his business acumen and insight into business planning. He managed to hoodwink competitors at this tender age with a deft understanding of consumer behavior. He took into account the needs of the different segment of society such as blue-collar job holders, kids, workers, and the likes. He did not use the age-old cliché of asking customers what else he wanted, and substituted it with what else he could get for them. It shows his deep understanding of consumer psyche at that young age.
He took the first big jump in his career when he joined Xerox in 1983 as a professional in the sales department, and by the age of 37, he became the youngest president as well as a corporate officer of the company. Later, by 2002, he was in SAP and creating history for himself and that of the company.
He believed in himself, and took criticisms of others in the right perspective and ignored them. He took risks that paid rich dividends. He showed early signs of entrepreneurship when he risked $7000 to purchase the deli which he ran successfully. He took recourse to good services to succeed and believed in building business niche by niche. He intended to look at, and do, things differently. That is why; he rose to occupy the coveted position of Co-Chief Executive Officer, Member of Global Managing Board, and Member of the Executive Board, President of Global Field Operations, and Chief Executive Officer of Global Field Operations of SAP AG. He is actively associated with 25 board members across three different establishments in eight industries of various kinds. At an age of 51 years, his total compensation for the fiscal year 2012 has been estimated as €8,856,800.
William R. McDermott, popularly known as Bill, has been SAP as Co-Chief Executive Officer with effect from 7th February 2010, Chief Executive Officer and Member of Executive Board of SAP Ag since July 2008. He has been serving as Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Executive Officer and President of SAP America Inc which is a SAP Labs LLC unit subsidiary till July 2008. He also donned the post of Corporate Officer of SAP from April 2007. He manages strategic business activities of SAP in America and Canada. He provides direction to over 5000 employees with respect to the needs of consumers. He has won many awards and accolades and widely held in high esteem for getting the best out of employees in terms of performance. During his first year with SAP, he led the organization to the constant increase in market share for all four quarters and increases in revenue generation. He was responsible for the customer as well as employee satisfaction.
After his stint with Xerox for seventeen long years where he started his career in sales division and became its Corporate Officer and Divisional President, Bill was associated with Siebel Systems as Executive President and promoted worldwide sales and looked after field operations and global sales between 2001 and 2002. He served as President of Gartner Inc from the year 2000 to 2001. Since March 2004, he has been a serving director, PAETEC Holding Corp and that of PAETEC communications since 2004. An independent Director of Ansys Inc. with effect from July 2007, he has been serving as Director of ‘Under Armour’ from August 2005. He also performs as a Board of Director for welfare-to-work Partnership based in the U.S., and promoting career opportunities. Bill is a member of the Enterprise Software Roundtable, Business Roundtable, KIIP School National Advisory Board, and the Advisory Board for Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Recipient of the nation’s highest award for performance in business Baldrige Award, he was voted to the Dowling College Board of Trustees, and was also accorded the status of Alumnus by Dowling College for 2003 which is presented annually by the President of the U.S. for outstanding achievements in the fields of strategic planning, leadership, information and analysis, customer and market focus, business results and process management.
Other Interests
Bill McDermott is widely acknowledged as an active civic leader and espouser of social responsibilities in businesses. As early as 2005, he has been an elected member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a federation boasting three million companies and organizations as its members which makes it the world’s largest business federation. He was also elected to the Chamber Foundation Board. He was acknowledged as one among ten Most Influential People in Finance of Treasury and Risk Management in June 2005. He has declared as the winner of the Ernest & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 Awards in Applied Technology constituted by Ernst & Young. He has been a charter member of the advisory council for the Hands on Network Organization, a conglomeration of voluntary organizations in China, the Philippines, and America which is engaged in the development of entrepreneurial strategies to narrowing the gap between community needs and resources.
