Life At A Glance: Leadership Roles Of Sindhu Gangadharan, First Woman MD Of SAP

Only 30 per cent of women in India are engineering students and around 30 per cent have jobs in this field. Although the percentage of women’s participation in the tech industry is higher in India when compared to the US (only 16 per cent of engineers are women), the tech-field is still male-dominated. But some women in science turn the gender barriers head-on and prove that women not only understand maths, science and computers but also succeed in each field. One such pioneering and defiant woman in tech is Sindhu Gangadharan, managing director of SAP Lab India, who is the first woman to head the german-tech giant.

Her life at a glance

Born in Bengaluru, Gangadharan was always interested in technology, mathematics and logic. Even though her parents wanted her to pursue medicine and be a doctor, she persisted and said that that's not what she wanted to do. “I was kind of a rebel at times, I have to say,” Gangadaharan said in an interview on the SAP website. Once she ventured into the field of technology and computer as a student in Bangalore University, things unfolded gradually and she joined SAP Lab India in the year 1999. Initially, her job profile described her as a Software Developer at CRM Middleware, a part of SAP.

Sindhu was very happy to be finally living her dream and working at a tech-giant.

Later, when her husband, who was also her colleague at SAP, was transferred to Germany, Gangadharan began a new journey with him staying and working at Walldorf in Germany. Initially, she was apprehensive about leaving India and moving to a foreign country with a different language and culture. She always wanted to communicate, converse and know things around her. And a foreign language and culture were certainly going to be a hindrance. The huge decision to move to Germany was anyway made and Gangadharan reached Germany and started her work at SAP.

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The initial two years stay in Germany extended to 18 years and this span gave her so many opportunities to prove herself. From leading the best initiatives to working with every department of SAP, Gangadharan became a known name for her leadership roles. She also learnt German to be involved in discussions rather than expecting the people there to speak in English. And all this finally landed her at the coveted position of managing director of SAP Lab India. And to fulfil this leadership role, Gangadharan moved back to India.

Creating opportunities and encouraging women leadership

Gangadharan firmly believes in women’s equal participation in workforce and leadership roles, especially in the field of computer and technology. As the MD of SAP Lab India, she has actively worked towards creating opportunities for women and drafting policies for diversity and inclusion. “Women make up 40% of the world’s workforce, as it is a male-dominated field across all levels, and this is also why we have been focused on looking at initiatives for girl students coming from weaker socio-economic backgrounds and giving them an opportunity to come into the corporate world,” Gangadharan said in a recent interview.

SAP supports STEM-related initiatives like Girl Who Code, Girl Smarts, Girl Power Tech, TechGirlz, the European Center for Women and Technology, Women in Data Science and many others to help women from different sections of the society to realise their potentials and excel in the fields of STEM.

Her tussle with gender barriers

Gangadharan has often admitted that gender discrimination exists in the workplace.  In an interview, she was quoted saying that when she walked into a meeting room, she often came across the audience that was expecting to be addressed by a man. “There’s initial apprehension conveyed through their body language, but they soon realise she knows what she’s saying,” she said. Despite that distinction, she believes that it is not the gender but the efforts and talents that make a leader out of a person.

She also believes that women in India are now defying compartmentalisation that society imposes on them. “Growing up in Bengaluru, my mother had the same expectations from me that she had of my two brothers. Women are evolving away from compartmentalisation. Our focus is on achieving a flow between all aspects of our lives,” she said.

For women, having a work-life balance has often been a primary concern. But in the sexist society, a similar balance isn’t expected from men. However, Gangadharan defied the idea of women’s obligation to balance personal and professional life and believes that it is “so last century”. The MD of SAP and a mother of two, Gangadharan said, “...there’s nothing like work-life balance. Work is also a significant part of one’s life.”

Pillars of her leadership roles

As the MD at SAP Lab, Gangadharan’s leadership comprises four important pillars or principles. The first is innovation and customer-centricity to build connectedness. The second principle is, as Gangadharan puts it, “end-to-end product focus and its ownership.” As a leader, she always encourages her employees to think broad and beyond their individual team and space. The third pillar of her leadership at SAP is thought leadership that encourages the employees to believe that they build the most innovative products. And the fourth pillar is about building a culture of inclusivity in the workplace.

Apart from being the MD of SAP, Gangadharan is a part of many other top global companies. She is the Executive Council Member at NASSCOM and Independent Director at Titan Company Ltd. One of the mottoes of her success has been to always strive to overcome inhibitions within oneself.

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