Making a Difference Beyond the Bottom-line

Aidmatrix Foundation Managing Director EMEA, Shari Temple, addressed the first women´s leadership breakfast at SAP SAPPHIRE NOW on May 18th in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The invitation only event was attended by cross-industry female corporate and public sector executives as well as industry bloggers, analysts, academics and reporters. Ms. Temple was introduced by Angelique de Vries, Managing Director of SAP Netherlands. This networking event was organized by SAP Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Gabriele Hartmann. In Orlando, the event is in its second year. Participants virtually and attending on both continents this year at Saphhire NOW number about 50,000.

Ms. Temple looked back at her career in supply chain and talked about her passion for social engagement. She described her current career in the nonprofit sector working with the Aidmatrix Foundation, where she can leverage her technical savvy and business experience to empower humanitarian relief organizations and agencies on the ground to deliver critical supplies to people in need.

Ms Temple´s remarks were especially relevant in the context of the keynote speakers of the previous day, Nobel Prize winner Al Gore and Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur, founder of Virgin Airline and associated enterprises. Mr. Gore remarked that, "we tend to confuse the unprecedented with the impossible" and praised business leaders who are taking up the challenge of sustainability. Sir Richard noted that business people should be engaged in talking about social problems and that they have the contacts and the financial resources to make a difference in "areas where there is a crying out need…areas where we see it can be done better."

Today, Shari Temple spoke directly to an underrepresented population in European boardrooms: women. "When I saw the sign SAPPHIRE NOW, I thought, Network of Women!" she quipped. By sharing her own story and the Aidmatrix mission, Shari Temple demonstrated how women can get involved in their personal and professional capacities to change our world for the better, and that the impact of technology applied to humanitarian initiatives can make a difference beyond what we once thought possible.


Click here to watch the interview

Click here to read the SAP SAPPHIRE NOW Blog

Elena Mendoza
Marketing Director, Aidmatrix Europe