Hasso Plattner

Hasso Plattner – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Discover the extraordinary life of Hasso Plattner — German entrepreneur, co-founder of SAP, philanthropist, and supporter of technology and the arts. Explore his biography, achievements, philosophy, and memorable quotes.

Introduction

Hasso Plattner is one of the most influential figures in the global technology and business world. Born in 1944 in Berlin, Germany, he rose to prominence as a co-founder of SAP SE, one of the world’s leading enterprise software companies. Beyond his business success, Plattner is known for his deep commitment to education, innovation, art, and philanthropy. His vision has shaped how software evolves, how technology supports institutions, and how wealth can be used for lasting positive impact.

Through his life, Plattner combines the precision and discipline of an engineer with the boldness of an entrepreneur and the generosity of a patron of culture. In today’s world of rapid digital transformation, his ideas and legacy remain highly relevant.

Early Life and Family

Hasso Plattner was born on January 21, 1944 in Berlin, Germany. His father, Horst Plattner (1918–2001), was a German ophthalmologist, originally from Transylvania (then part of Romania), who immigrated to Germany before the war. Little is publicly recorded about his mother, though Plattner’s upbringing took place in postwar Germany, during an era of reconstruction and social change.

As a child, Plattner’s family relocated to southern Germany, and he spent much of his youth in Bavaria and the southwestern region. He later attended high school and then pursued higher education, first completing his Abitur (the German secondary school leaving certificate) and then moving to the University of Karlsruhe.

He is married to Sabine Plattner, a former teacher.

Youth and Education

After finishing secondary education around 1963, Plattner enrolled at the University of Karlsruhe (then Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe), focusing on communications engineering (Nachrichtentechnik).

That same year, Plattner joined IBM Germany in Mannheim as a programmer/developer, beginning his career in the technology sector. During his tenure at IBM, Plattner worked on software projects and gained insight into how data systems could be designed, maintained, and integrated. This experience would later feed into his vision for enterprise software.

It was in the early 1970s that Plattner and a handful of like-minded colleagues recognized a gap in the market: businesses needed standard, integrated software to manage data and operations in real time. Their ambition and technical expertise would lead to founding SAP.

Career and Achievements

Founding SAP and Early Growth

In 1972, Plattner and four former IBM colleagues — Dietmar Hopp, Claus Wellenreuther, Hans-Werner Hector, and Klaus Tschira — founded SAP (Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung, initially) in Weinheim, Germany.

Under Plattner’s technical leadership, SAP developed integrated business modules (finance, logistics, human resources, etc.) and grew steadily through the 1970s and 1980s.

Leadership Roles at SAP

Over the years, Plattner took on various leadership roles within SAP. By 1998, he served as co-CEO alongside Henning Kagermann.

In May 2003, Plattner stepped back from daily management and became Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SAP, a position he held until May 2024. Chief Software Advisor.

Throughout his governance, Plattner had a significant equity stake in SAP. As of 2020, he held around 5.89% of the company, making him the largest individual shareholder.

Innovation, Investment & Ventures

Plattner’s interests extended far beyond SAP. In 1998, he founded the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in Potsdam, Germany, dedicated to software systems engineering research and teaching.

He also established Hasso Plattner Ventures (HPV), a venture capital fund supporting early-stage technology companies across Europe and Africa. HPV Africa (in Cape Town), supported companies in the African tech space.

In academia, Plattner contributed to the creation of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (also called the “d-school”) with a donation around US$35 million in 2005. This move highlighted his belief in cross-disciplinary approaches combining design, engineering, and human-centric innovation.

Art, Culture & Architecture

Plattner has long championed the arts and culture. He played a pivotal role in resurrecting the Palace Barberini in Potsdam, contributing over €20 million to reconstruct its historic exterior. Wildenstein Plattner Institute, focusing on cataloguing and digitizing art historical scholarship.

He made world headlines in 2019 when he purchased Claude Monet’s painting Meules (1890) for US$110.7 million, the highest price ever paid for an Impressionist at auction to that date. Das Minsk, a private museum in Potsdam emphasizing East German artists.

Historical Milestones & Context

• Postwar Germany & Reconstruction
  Born in 1944, Plattner’s childhood was shaped by the aftermath of World War II, the division and reconstruction of Germany, and the technological edge the country sought in the years ahead.

• Rise of Enterprise Software (1970s–1980s)
  As computing moved from isolated systems to connected business platforms, Plattner’s vision for integrated enterprise software hit a pivotal moment. SAP became one of the pioneers in standardized software for business operations.

• Globalization & Digital Transformation (1990s–2000s)
  SAP expanded globally, supporting multinationals, enabling companies to run across borders, and adapting to the rise of the internet and cloud computing. Plattner’s era overlapped with major shifts in how businesses thought about IT infrastructure.

• Philanthropic Wave & Intellectual Capital (2000s–present)
  In more recent decades, Plattner has become emblematic of business leaders who channel resources into education, culture, scientific research, and social good.

• Recent Philanthropic Engagement (2025)
  In June 2025, Plattner announced plans to convert a decayed former parliamentary building in Potsdam into a new campus for the University of Potsdam, significantly expanding the Hasso-Plattner-Institut’s footprint.

Legacy and Influence

Hasso Plattner’s legacy is multifaceted:

1. Enterprise Software Pioneer
   SAP remains a global leader in business software, with roots that reflect Plattner’s early technical and organizational ethos.

2. Champion of Education & Research
   Through the HPI and his support for design thinking and interdisciplinary innovation, Plattner has nurtured generations of engineers, designers, and thinkers.

3. Art & Culture Patron
   His investments in museums, art foundations, and architectural reconstruction provide lasting cultural infrastructure, particularly in Potsdam and Berlin.

4. Philanthropic Model
   Plattner is part of the global movement of wealthy entrepreneurs pledging significant parts of their wealth for public benefit (e.g., he signed The Giving Pledge in February 2013).

5. Bridge Between Business and Academia
   He exemplifies a person who bridged commerce and scholarship — using business success to empower knowledge creation and societal growth.

6. Inspiration for Germany’s Tech and Innovation Ecosystem
   In Germany and Europe, Plattner is often cited as an example that tech companies can scale globally from Europe, while maintaining roots in local innovation infrastructure.

Personality and Talents

• Engineer at Heart
  Even in leadership roles, Plattner has maintained a strong focus on technical detail, architecture, and system integrity.

• Bold Yet Reflective
  He has spoken frankly about his own frustrations: “I can’t control my frustration.” His directness in conversation and management is well known.

• Cultural and Intellectual Curiosity
  Plattner often expresses interest in design, art history, architecture, and philosophy — projecting a Renaissance-style intellectual breadth.

• Adventurer & Sports Enthusiast
  He has been a competitive sailor, winning the Sydney-Hobart Regatta in 1996 with his yacht Morning Glory. San Jose Sharks in the NHL.

• Visionary and Risk-Taker
  His acquisition of high-value artwork and his ambitious cultural projects show a willingness to take bold bets on long-term impact.

Famous Quotes of Hasso Plattner

Here are some of his memorable, thought-provoking statements — useful as distilled insights into his mindset:

“I believe that whoever is successful should help ensure that the next generation can be successful, too.” “Business reporting is not dealing with objects, it is dealing with relationships between objects.” “The software industry has to become better in componentization. … How components look, how they are maintained, the ability to maintain them separately.” “Kids only learn that the stove is hot when they put their finger on and they burn it. This, unfortunately, is the limitation of our precious brain.” “I made my money with software — encoded knowledge … and so it seemed imperative that this would be the field where I would give something back.” “I'm a Berliner — fast, loud, obnoxious, industrious, brutally open.” “You cannot make money with a hockey team. You cannot make money with a hotel, either, and you cannot make money with a golf club. I have all three of them.” “There is this permanent hope in America that there is some new technology around the corner that will change the world.”

These quotes reflect his blend of technical insight, personal humility, and ambitious vision.

Lessons from Hasso Plattner

1. Technical foundation matters
   Plattner’s engineering background grounded his leadership in systems thinking and robustness.

2. Think long-term, not short-term
   Many of his investments (education, museums, foundations) won’t pay off in financial terms immediately, but build lasting legacy.

3. Bridge disciplines
   His efforts in design, art, and science show that innovation often happens at the intersections of fields.

4. Give back when you have earned
   He repeatedly emphasizes the responsibility of successful people to support future generations.

5. Risk with purpose
   Whether buying art or supporting large infrastructural projects, his risks tend to be aligned with values, not mere status.

6. Stay curious and adaptable
   His involvement in new ventures, ideas, and technologies underscores that growth means evolving.

Conclusion

Hasso Plattner’s life is a compelling example of how ingenuity, discipline, generosity, and vision can intertwine to create a lasting impact. From launching SAP to shaping educational institutions, championing the arts, and funding bold cultural undertakings, he stands as a modern polymath whose legacy transcends business.

His story encourages us not just to chase success, but to shape a world where intellectual and cultural capital flourish, where the next generation can build even higher, and where wealth and achievement are vehicles for transformation.