Five Minutes with Robin Manherz

Five Minutes with Robin Manherz

Head of North America Business Transformation

 

North America News: What projects are you currently working on that you are excited about?

Robin: Anything we’re doing around our North American and Global 2015 business strategy. For instance, we’re looking at how we’ll adapt our go to market model, how we deploy our sales force, finding alternate routes to market and reinventing the SAP brand. I’m excited about all of this because it keeps my skills, the work I do and my outlook fresh. This part of our business requires that I understand the mechanics of the company and allows for creativity and innovation. I like that.  I like having to know the depth of the business and being able to explore the places it can take us. It’s work that lets me engage both sides of my brain.

North America News: Tell us one thing that people generally don’t know about you.

Robin: I’m a mother of six kids, four of whom were adopted from Haiti. I’m a pretty transparent person so people who know me personally, know my family. But for those who don’t, it might come as a surprise. We mimic the Brady Bunch and by that I mean we have two kids who are 12-years-old, two who are 10 and two who are five. My husband is a stay-at-home dad and that makes our family possible. There’s plenty of effort required beyond the traditional with a family like ours. Plus we have two dogs and a cat.

Really, we’re like the Brady Bunch minus Alice! 

North America News: What are some of your passions and hobbies that you enjoy outside of the office?

Robin: (laughs) A family of six kids doesn’t give time for much else! Each one of them has their own interests so we make sure to encourage and support what they want to do. I’m in a life phase where most of my concentration is on my family and my work, but out of that has grown two particular passions for me.

When we began to grow our family five years ago, we wanted to adopt children who might’ve been forgotten or who were otherwise outside the ‘desirable’ criteria; Haiti gave us that opportunity and made me passionate about the awareness of adopting older children. And so often in 3^rd world countries, children are an indication of the status of women. Since learning that—since seeing it first hand in Haiti—I’m very concerned about the plight of women in poor countries. I am involved in an organization that works to ensure women can deliver their babies and receive proper care.

North America News:  What did you want to be when you grew up?

Robin: When I was a kid, I wanted to be an architect.  I’ve always loved art and the intersection of science and art.

North American News: If you could have dinner with anyone (living or not), who would it be and why?

Robin: A quiet dinner away from all the noise and activity with my husband. Truly. I have such a full life, great relationships with my kids, the people in their lives, people I work with…John and I invest a lot in our family and what grounds me are the opportunities we have to reconnect. Having a calm, peaceful dinner with time for reflection, just the two of us, would do that.  

Robin with her family near their Denver, CO home (l to r) Michael (10), Stephanie (10), MJ (12), husband John with Emma (5), John (12) and in front, Ben (5).