Sindhu Gangadharan: The Technology Humanist

Technology, when used right, can make a real difference on the ground. When the country was floundering with oxygen shortage in the horrific second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, SAP Labs India connected the Government of India with medical oxygen suppliers using its Oxygen Digital Tracking System (ODTS). "Since more than 80 per cent of medical oxygen suppliers in India run SAP, a real-time integration of all major oxygen suppliers with ODTS was the fastest solution (created in 36 hours) to effectively track oxygen in the country and create a reliable delivery forecast for the hospitals," recalls Sindhu Gangadharan, Managing Director of SAP Labs India. Under Gangadharan, the first woman to head SAP Labs' largest R&D centre outside Germany, the company is working with NASSCOM and the Indian government to accelerate India's tech growth story and is "absolutely committed to making a difference with our cutting-edge technology and innovation capabilities".

Gangadharan joined the company in 1999 when SAP Labs India set up its operations in Bengaluru (then called Bangalore), then moved to the company headquarters in Walldorf, Germany, and finally returned to lead India operations in 2019. This time, among other things, she is determined to move the needle on gender diversity. "One of my primary goals is to help create a more diverse and inclusive technology industry in India. With renewed focus on women technologists and support from the SAP Executive Board, SAP Labs India is actively chasing the 50-50 representation mark as an extension to its commitment on gender equality," says the computer science graduate. Currently, the company has 32 per cent women in its workforce. Indeed, SAP Labs India onboarded over 1,500 new employees in 2020 and 2,300 in 2021, even as many leading tech companies laid off thousands of employees across the globe and in India. "It was important that we continued to deliver on our commitment to invest in India," says Gangadharan.

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