Maria Ragone 

I’m Maria Ragone and I have been with SAP for four years. I work in Global Commercial Finance Strategy & Operations as part of the Finance Operations Center of Excellence.

I am originally from Southern Italy and moved to Ireland 7 years ago. I joined SAP in Dublin in 2017 as a Customer Engagement Associate working in the office three days a week, and from home two days. Obviously in 2020 I started working from home full time. I love the fact that in SAP we have more flexibility than other companies and SAP shows care and support for its employees.

I applied for a role in SAP as I wanted my career to take the next step and it was definitely the right choice. Two years ago, I moved into my current role where I am part of the team which is responsible for the simplification and digitalization of commercial processes at SAP. We oversee all commercial operations and support many different teams around the world with which we collaborate every day.

Back in 2020 we started as a small team of six plus our manager. All team members were women and even now that our team has doubled, women are the majority. I love the fact that our manager chose six strong women to be at the core of our team and that SAP as a company would support this 100%. Working in a global team, I can see how diversity helps us to work better and to know more about other cultures.

Being successful to me equals being happy and satisfied with my life. SAP has helped to become more confident in my professional life which I consider a great achievement. Also, as a woman, it is great to see that SAP believes in female empowerment and promotes many initiatives in that direction.

My first ever job was at my family’s shop in Italy. Since I was 10, during summer vacations my brother and I would help my dad to run errands, stock the shelves and clean. My first grown-up job was as a waitress in London when I moved for a brief period after high school and after that I worked in a pub for a year during my last year at university. All these opportunities have helped me to understand that working hard will bring you far and that is why I do the same now in SAP. 

Growing up I wanted to become a translator and I studied for that, however life brought me on a different path, and I was happy to follow it. I would have also loved a job that would allow me to travel and discover new places. Travelling is one of my passions and if money were no object, I would love to do a proper non-stop tour of all Europe. 

Fun fact: If I could have any superpower I would like to be able to play with time, travel back and forth, to see how things would be if I made different decisions and how they will be in the next 10-15 years…I am very curious!