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Officials, executives, students and local dignitaries gathered at San Ramon’s Bishop Ranch Business Park to celebrate the opening of software corporation SAP’s new office at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon.
The opening is the result of a close partnership with the city of San Ramon, SAP officials said.
A key component of the new office space is the SAP Academy for Early Talent, a nine-month program that prepares recent college graduates from around the world for careers in sales. About two-thirds of the approximately 200 people in attendance at the event were academy students from about 30 different countries, according to officials.
San Ramon Mayor Bill Clarkson was one of the speakers at the ribbon-cutting, and he expressed excitement that the academy would be located in San Ramon.
“You’re going to be — from my point of view — ambassadors who are going to go and become the leaders of SAP,” Clarkson addressed the international crowd. “You’re going to go to different organizations throughout the world. We really hope you’ll begin to talk about this extraordinary city you came from.”
SAP’s regional office used to be located in Dublin, but in July 2015, the company announced that they would be relocating to San Ramon, leasing 150,000 square feet of office space in Bishop Ranch’s 2600 Building.
In January,, they started the transition and have now moved into their new space, complete with desk clusters, colorful study nooks and kitchenettes.
The SAP Academy has existed for seven years, located first in Scottsdale, Ariz., then Dublin and now San Ramon. Part of the purpose behind the program’s creation, said Rob Enslin, president of SAP’s cloud business group, was to attract younger and more diverse sales leaders.
“I personally will forever love and believe in the power of young people to do more than people think they can do,” Enslin said at the ceremony. “And I believe diversity will continue to be a major benefactor for SAP and humankind and this academy exemplifies that.”
About 1,100 students in total have gone through the program.
Jan Schmidt, a current academy student, said that the prospect of interacting and learning from a variety of people from different markets attracted him to the program. “There’s not one unique way of selling,” said Schmidt, who is originally from Waldorf, Germany, where SAP is globally headquartered.
At the ribbon-cutting, Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon) presented SAP with a congratulatory resolution on behalf of the California legislature.
“I’m here to celebrate that you’re in California and that you’re not only in San Ramon but in the Innovation Valley,” she said. “That’s what we call this area. It’s a wonderful place to live and work and to bring people from all around the world…Our state needs to embrace the innovation that you bring to the world and to our community.”
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About two-thirds of the approximately 200 people in attendance at the SAP ribbon-cutting ceremony were students of the SAP Academy for Early Talent, officials said. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
Rob Enslin spoke to the crowd about the importance of increasing diversity and training young people to be sales leaders. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
San Ramon Mayor Bill Clarkson told the crowd of sales students to remain authentic and care about their clients in their future careers. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
District 16 Assemblywoman Catharine Baker presented Enslin with a resolution on behalf of the state legislature celebrating SAP’s presence in the state and, specifically, in San Ramon. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
Left to right: Assemblywoman Catharine Baker; Rob Enslin, president of SAP’s cloud business group; San Ramon Mayor Bill Clarkson; and Judy Lloyd, representative to State Senator Steve Glazer. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
SAP began the move from Dublin to San Ramon in January of this year. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
The space leased by SAP is located in the 2600 building of Bishop Ranch and is 150,000 square feet in total. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
Study nooks for the SAP Academy students. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
The SAP Academy for Early Talent is a nine-month program for recent college graduates from around the world. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
Yousef Aloo El Nour (from Dubai) and Michael Abbott (from the UK) are both pre-sales students at the academy. (Photo by Erika Alvero) -
A reception followed the ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Photo by Erika Alvero)
