Mark Finnern as Don Finleone clarifies why he leads the earthDECKS POW! Alliance Network. His background in both computer science and business, his love of the arts (he’s also a musician), and his deep concern about the future drive him to work across the arts and technology developing the POW! Impact Award program to support innovation.

At SAP Mark invented, developed, and marketed the Preconfigured Client and was responsible for the configuration of Financial and Controlling (FI/CO) modules. The startup eMachines used his PCC for their implementation in October 1998, going live within four weeks, and within months becoming the fourth largest PC seller in the US.Mark hails from Germany. After working with SAP in Germany, Mark moved to SAP Labs in Silicon Valley. He was SAP Chief Community Evangelist for the SAP global network, which is now more than 12 million users, 121,000 installations worldwide, with more than 1,500 SAP partners, and over 25 industry-specific business solutions. For this large ecosystem, Mark developed and ran the SAP Mentor Initiative, identifying in the global SAP Ecosystem of around 3 million community members, those innovators and community builders who would be most effective as SAP Mentors – the top 150+ community influencers.

Mark Finnern founded and hosted the Future Salon to bring together eclectic change makers to explore how to make a world that works for all. He knows Zann Gill, Founder of earthDECKS, from hosting her to speak on collaborative intelligence at one of his Future Salons in 2009. At TEDx Mark shared his 5 Ideas on How to Bring All of Our Schools Into 21st Century. Mark was interviewed on the Marketing Council podcast on Building Your Enterprise Tribe, where he recounts the story of growing the SAP Mentors team  —[write-up/podcast].

Roberto Negro CFO | CIO | Compliance @ Accenture > Indesit > Whirlpool > Clementoni (Italy) wrote: “Mark is a visionary and really eclectic genius. I was lucky enough to know him at the dawning of SDN [SAP Developer Network], a new and very innovative way to collaborate and share knowledge. His passion made a big community come alive.” Harry Max, Board Director and COO wrote: “Mark Finnern is one of the most forward-thinking and thoughtful people I’ve had the opportunity to work with. His nuanced approach to community building led  SAP Developer Network to become a thriving on-line resource for the company, its clients, and developers world-wide. He has an unusual talent for looking far into the future and seeing the possibilities.”