Aspire2Ascend

Season 2 Recap

Courtney, Lauren and Paige reflect on Season 2 of the Aspire2Ascend podcast, share their own super powers and share their upcoming Real Customers of SAP virtual event series. 

"Anyone has the ability to re-invent themselves" - Jack Werder

Jack Werder talks to Ascend Source about his unique career path and what he learned throughout his journey.  Jack has reinvited himself several times through his career including running a family business. Jack believes anyone can re-invent themselves at any age by being humble, checking their ego at the door and a willingness to learn. 

"Don’t sell. Educate. Education is the best form of selling." - Paul Kurchina

Ascend Source is joined in this episode by Paul Kurchina, who is a true customer advocate and SAP Ecosystem Accelerator. Having spent over 25 years within the ecosystem, he has dedicated his career to improving business operations with SAP, but more importantly, taking that experience and knowledge to others. Paul has lived his life and his career by freely giving and investing into people without expectations in return and finding true joy and personal satisfaction in connecting with others...

"You can control two things in life, hustle and attitude."- Ari Seelinger

Ari Seelinger is not your typical SAP Account Executive. Unlike some sales individuals, he is not motivated by the paycheck, but rather the person he is working for. He started his career at Oracle, then moved to a small start up, and finally landed at SAP. With this experience, Ari is no stranger to navigating both small and large organizations. Ari talks to us about the importance of hustle and attitude and how a bad day rarely knocks him down.

"My style, as an individual, needs to be tweaked in order to be effective and scale as a leader." - Brian Moores

Ascend Source is joined in this episode by SAP Vice President in the Midwest, Brian Moores. Brian shares with us his SAP journey and how curiosity fuels his motivation. We discuss his vision and transition from being an individual performer versus leader.  He has learned the importance of knowing when to step in and when to listen.  When growing and investing in individuals on your team, he expressed the importance of understanding and accepting that individuals are just that - individual pe...

"My style, as an individual, needs to be tweaked in order to be effective and scale as a leader." - Brian Moores

Ascend Source is joined in this episode by SAP Vice President in the Midwest, Brian Moores. Brian shares with us his SAP journey and how curiosity fuels his motivation. We discuss his vision and transition from being an individual performer versus leader.  He has learned the importance of knowing when to step in and when to listen.  When growing and investing in individuals on your team, he expressed the importance of understanding and accepting that individuals are just that - individual pe...

"You can't fake knowledge." - Joshua Milos

Join Ascend Source as we speak with Josh Milos, Head of IT Applications for Birkenstock Americas. At the forefront of SAP technology, Josh shares with us the importance of partner selection and what he looks for when choosing vendors. As an active ASUG member, he shares the benefits of tight-knit SAP Communities and Special Interest Groups and how they have provided him value and guidance throughout his career. 

"You can't fake knowledge."

Join Ascend Source as we speak with Josh Milos, Head of IT Applications for Birkenstock Americas. At the forefront of SAP technology, Josh shares with us the importance of partner selection and what he looks for when choosing vendors. As an active ASUG member, he shares the benefits of tight-knit SAP Communities and Special Interest Groups and how they have provided him value and guidance throughout his career. 

"Respect is earned. You don't just get respect when you have a title." - Amy Spruill / Wizzie Carrier

Amy and Wizzie deep-dive into their viewpoints of professional friendships and the importance of commroderie. The best relationships are built on respect, vulnerability, and integrity. These are not just buzz words - they are truly a way of life. They also address the not-so-simple challenges we are all facing during this pandemic and touch on how they have had to completely redefine their own sales strategy, hustle and grit. "It's time we all become unapologetic and authentic, especially du...

"Respect is earned. You don't just get respect when you have a title."

Amy and Wizzie deep-dive into their viewpoints of professional friendships and the importance of commroderie. The best relationships are built on respect, vulnerability, and integrity. These are not just buzz words - they are truly a way of life. They also address the not-so-simple challenges we are all facing during this pandemic and touch on how they have had to completely redefine their own sales strategy, hustle and grit. "It's time we all become unapologetic and authentic, especially du...

"Never underestimate likability. Likability is key." - Juan Albelo

Juan Albelo started his career with a degree in engineering. However like many, he landed in a completely different field. Now with  over 25+ years in software industry, Juan walks us through his journey of entrepreneurship and some of the challenges he faced. He shares some of the best practices from his career as he has worked on both the software vendor side and partner side. He will share his definition of ‘hustle’ and his own personal leadership perspective on teamwork, with many thanks...

"Never underestimate likability. Likability is key."

Juan Albelo started his career with a degree in engineering. However like many, he landed in a completely different field. Now with  over 25+ years in software industry, Juan walks us through his journey of entrepreneurship and some of the challenges he faced. He shares some of the best practices from his career as he has worked on both the software vendor side and partner side. He will share his definition of ‘hustle’ and his own personal leadership perspective on teamwork, with many thanks...

"If you get your team bought into the vision, they will create their own passion."

"If you get your team bought into the vision, they will create their own passion." - Kevin Burns

Kevin talks with Ascend Source about his successful and tenured-career at SAP. He shares with us the impactful mentors that helped him along the way and his passion for giving back to young professionals in a similar matter.  He also shares his insights on what he looks for within his high-performing sales teams. Kevin brings it down to earth, intimately sharing parts of his story, including his late wife, Kathy, and the incredible, beautiful impact she had on the world. 

"As we grew we realized If everyone thought the same way, then we would never break out of the mold."

Omar Zuberi started his career as a mechanical engineer with a passion and admiration for the individuals deciding what to make it and when to make it within the Supply Chain space. Now, one of the founders My Supply Chain Group (MSCG), he walks us through the journey of entrepreneurship, challenges of a growing company, and the shift within the Supply Chain space. He chats with us about what energizes him both inside and outside of the day-to-day, and what he believes are the keys to succes...

"As we grew we realized if everyone thought the same way, then we would never break out of the mold."

Omar Zuberi started his career as a mechanical engineer with a passion and admiration for the individuals deciding what to make it and when to make it within the Supply Chain space. Now, one of the founders My Supply Chain Group (MSCG), he walks us through the journey of entrepreneurship, challenges of a growing company, and the shift within the Supply Chain space. He chats with us about what energizes him both inside and outside of the day-to-day, and what he believes are the keys to succes...

“Stay curious, persevere, keep at it, keep learning, but be patient.”

Amy Spruill's journey at SAP has been an adventurous one. As an SAP boomerang she has successfully navigated various leadership roles including a recent a market unit shift.  She talks about how she manages change for her team and customers in a constantly evolving ecosystem. Now, as the RVP of the SouthEast, Amy shares her personal leadership style and how she takes on a direct approach while also wishing she had exercised more patience.

"As a CIO, ensuring stakeholder adoption and alignment with the company's vision and direction are the things that kept me up at night."

From consultant to CIO to Partner, Randy Gonzalez shares his perspective of the SAP ecosystem. Randy notoroialsy led the largest global S/4HANA implementation to date during the financial crisis in 2008. With his deep amount of experience in SAP, Randy has now started GCS Group, focused on helping to drive adoption of SAP technology. He’ll share his thoughts on digital transformation, the migration to S/4HANA, change management and chickens; yes, chickens.

"Keep in mind the solution for a customer is not always technology. Technology is a piece of that puzzle."

Utilizing her extensive SAP background and creative mindset, Sarah works with the 18,000+ partners in the SAP Ecosystem to help breakdown the complexity of the technology for SAP customers. Always keeping the customer front and center, Sarah shares how empathy for her customers and how true partnerships can deliver on their vision, using SAP technology as a piece of their overall puzzle.

"I wouldn't say that I love technology. I love using technology as a tool to improve the business and drive the business forward."

From the plant floor to CIO, Bill Bowers shares his professional journey at the largest flooring manufacturer in the world, Mohawk. He talks about his early beginnings, company culture and leadership style. With a fail fast mentality, Mohawk stays at the forefront of SAP technology with a need to constantly remain innovative during the time of the “Amazon experience.” By building a Center of Excellence comprised of industry experts, Mohawk has achieved Digital Transformation as an enterprise...

"If you say you do everything, they'll call you for nothing"

Join the founders of Ascend Source as they discuss the gap they are filling in the SAP channel, the value of empathy, and their unique ability to drive value and reciprocity within a complex and evolving ecosystem.  As the founders of Ascend Source, Courtney and Lauren have dedicated the organization to solve a gap in the complex ecosystem. Ascend Source is a true trusted advisor to a community comprised of implementation Partners, OEM Partners, User Groups, and Customers all linked together...

"I shifted my mindset and came to the table with a fresh perspective by thinking like my customer, acting like my customer, and becoming part of their company culture."

After finding her passion, and learning the power of no, listen to how Elizabeth Carrier launched her career in SAP among a field of blue suits, her daily grind, and the not so glamorous day-to-day as an SAP Industry Account Executive. With her competitive mentality, a shift in mindset, and constantly putting her customers first, Elizabeth went from a rookie to an MVP in just a few short years.