Annahita Esmailzadeh

Annahita Esmailzadeh is one of the most visible voices of the modern world of work. Her ideas on careers, leadership, technology and social change reach hundreds of thousands of people and shape debates about how we work, lead and define success today. A business informatics graduate and certified business coach, she looks back on an exceptional career in the international tech world: after working in consulting at SAP, she helped build the innovation unit of SAP Labs in Munich as Head of Innovation. She then moved to Microsoft Germany, where she held leadership roles for several years. Today she holds a management position at ServiceNow. Annahita is a multiple SPIEGEL bestselling author and, with a community of more than 200,000 people on LinkedIn and around 20,000 on Instagram, one of the best-known business influencers in the DACH region. She writes as a guest author for Business Insider. She speaks and writes about careers and success, modern leadership, power and social expectations, equal opportunity and innovation. And about why progress often begins where people are willing to question existing rules and supposed certainties. For brands, she develops collaborations around AI, innovation and female finance and takes the stage as a speaker for keynotes, panels and moderation. Annahita has received numerous awards for her work and her social impact. Capital lists her among its “40 under 40”, FOCUS among its “100 Women of the Year” and Business Insider among the 25 future makers shaping the German economy. She received the German Diversity Award, was named by Business Punk as one of the 100 minds in Germany who radically rethink things, and ranked first as a “top star” in Personalmagazin’s HR ranking. She also received a special honour from the Free State of Bavaria: the Medal for Special Merits for Bavaria in a United Europe.