Sabine Hammer ─ Passionate channel sales leader helping partners excel in their digital transformation journey...
December 7, 2021 • 3 Minute Read
Updated October 2022
Sabine Hammer
Director, Chief of Staff Infrastructure Solutions Group EMEA
Lenovo Global Technology
Germany GmbH
(Previously—Director, Chief of Staff, Infrastructure Solutions Group EMEA
Lenovo Global Technology
Germany GmbH)
Are you looking for a passionate channel sales leader who helps partners with their digital transformation journey? We know the person—Sabine Hammer!
Sabine Hammer is the Director and Chief of Staff,Infrastructure Solutions Group EMEA for Lenovo Global Technology Germany GmbH. She has a passion for leading channel sales, and helping partners through their digital transformation journey. Sabine is a volunteer mentor for MentorMe, a mentoring program for women, where she helps support and develop people through their career journey. She has worked for IT companies for 14+ years in a range of roles. Very shortly she will begin a new chapter at Lenovo, so stay tuned for more in 2022!
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman™, Sabine Hammer!
Our 10 Questions for this IT Wondrous Woman.
Fun Facts
1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?
In 2020 I started my own book blog on Instagram. I love reading, but it was always a challenge to remember what I have read after many years and to get really good new book recommendations. This blog is now helping me to remember and share reading ideas for others.
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
I had one year with 120 flight segments and a view of 10,000´s of miles – for business purposes only. That was really a crazy year, and this is the good lesson out of the pandemic: that hybrid working is working vs. virtual only or F2F only will not work out.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
Green-lipped Mussels. We had them for the first-time in a restaurant in Christchurch in New Zealand.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
This was indeed in my early 20s in my first leadership role. I was the leader and, at the same time, the youngest person in the whole team. It was an international team with more than 10 different nations and cultures. It was quite challenging, but really a key learning step in my career, which prepared me for many other things which came-up later. I did many things by intuition – today, I know, we call that simply “situative leading”.
5. Did you have a mentor in the early part of your career and, if so, what is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor or influencer?
In the company where I started my first leadership role we had an external professional coach and there was a really strong lady leading her owned company. I had both an external mentor and really a great role model in front of me. I learned from both, using and leveraging my existing strengths and being always authentic, empathic and intuitive, and especially not playing a role as a leader.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
...Collect experiences as soon as you can.
...Stay to your selected way but be confident and bold enough to change your opinion and change your way if you have the feeling that this is not the right way and it´s time to change!
...Be yourself and trust yourself!
...Don´t think that you always need to work like a dog, because you think others expect this from you and reflect that this is basically your own expectation!
...Don´t be shy and always speak-up!
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I love being a mentor for colleagues, younger people, young leaders, international colleagues. A new engagement is now “MentorMe” where I´m offering mentorships dedicated for women.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
It was definitely the transformation in a big Sales organization to Solution Sales. Beside the organizational parts of this project, the mindset and change management part was by far the most challenging one.
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
I participated this year in the C-Level-School led by European Women on Boards. It was very focused on digital transformation. The other thing where I constantly try to improve and develop is my own Solutions Sales Skills and my Mentoring Skills and Tools.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
It is definitely the transformation of our industry and the needed change in behaviour, in the mindset, in the way we work, how we communicate etc. And, of course, the virtual working mix since the pandemic. It´s always important to reflect, what is working very well virtual and where F2F is a must.
