Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Hasso Plattner
Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Hasso Plattner holds the chair of "Enterprise Platform and Integration Concepts" at the Hasso Plattner Institute. The research group focuses on in-memory data management for enterprise systems and on methods and tools for the design and engineering of such systems. He is author and co-author of more than 50 scientific publications and has served conferences such as ACM SIGMOD and VLDB as a keynote speaker. Hasso Plattner is co-founder of SAP SE, where he served as the CEO until 2003 and has since been Chairman of the supervisory board. In his role as chief software advisor, he concentrates on defining the mid- and long-term technology strategy and direction of SAP. Prof. Plattner received his diploma in communications engineering from the University of Karlsruhe. In recent years, he has been focusing on teaching and research in the field of business computing and software engineering at large. In 1998, he founded the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in Potsdam, Germany.

Linking Business and Science

Hasso Plattner's commitment to fostering the sciences is both exceptional and exemplary. 2020, his Alma Mater the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology awarded him a honorary doctorate for his lifetime achievements. In 2018, Mr. Plattner has been awarded with the Werner-von-Siemens-Ring with rationale of being an exceptional visionary and productive computer scientist, especially in respect of fundamental research on databases and software architecture. In the end of 2007, Mr. Plattner was awarded the special medal by the government of Brandenburg. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities honored his efforts by awarding the Berlin-born entrepreneur the Leibniz Medal in 2005. In 2002, the University of Potsdam presented the 65-year-old benefactor with an honorary doctorate. In the summer of 1998, Hasso Plattner announced the foundation of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Software Systems Engineering (HPI). Not only has Plattner financed the HPI (pledging a total in excess of EUR 200 million), he is also personally invested as head of the "Enterprise Platform and Integration Concepts" research group. During the federal government's national IT summit that took place at the Hasso Plattner Institute in late 2006, Plattner announced that he would be extending the HPI with the launch of the "School of Design Thinking". Since 2007, students entering the final stages of their degree courses will have the opportunity of working in multidisciplinary teams, learning to design creatively innovative IT-related products and services. Plattner has been linking science and business for many years now. It was to mark his achievements in this area that the Saarland University in Saarbrücken awarded him an honorary doctorate back in 1990. In 1994, the same university appointed Plattner Honorary Professor of Business Informatics and in 1998 named him an Honorary Senator. Hasso Plattner is also a patron of the sciences in Baden-Württemberg. In October 2003, his foundation’s EUR 10 million donation enabled extensions to be made to the university library in Mannheim Castle. Hasso Plattner has received numerous tributes and awards for his contribution to business and science. In 1998, Manager magazine awarded the technology expert and winner of the prestigious Information Technology Leadership Award for Global Integration a place in its Hall of Fame, which honours individuals who have been instrumental in driving forward Germany’s commercial, societal and social growth. Plattner topped Time Magazine Europe’s 2001 list of the most prominent and influential figures in IT. During a ceremony to mark the benefactor’s 60th birthday on 21 January 2004, the German Chancellor - then Gerhard Schröder - recognized his achievements with the words: "We need many more Hasso Plattners and SAPs to get Germany’s economy moving forward".