Annahita Esmailzadeh leads the Customer Success Account Management division for the energy and chemical industries at Microsoft. Previously, she was the Head of Innovation for SAP Labs in Munich.

As one of the most influential opinion leaders in business, she uses her voice on social networks and in the media to advocate for more diversity, inclusion, and modern cultural and leadership approaches in the workplace.

Her book “Von Quotenfrauen und alten weißen Männern” was published in August 2023 and immediately reached number 3 on the SPIEGEL bestseller list and number 6 on the manager magazin business bestseller list. She is also a co-editor and author of the SPIEGEL and manager magazin bestseller “Gen Z für Entscheider:innen.”

As a board member, she advises Miss Germany Studios, MentorMe, and the Media Innovation Program at Hamburg Media School. She is also a mentor for several initiatives, including Startup Teens, a non-profit organization that provides students, regardless of background and school type, with access to entrepreneurship and innovation topics.

She was recognized by FOCUS magazine as one of the 100 Women of the Year 2022. Business Insider’s economics section named her one of the Top 25 Future Makers who are shaping and transforming the German economy. She is a recipient of the European Medal and was awarded the German Diversity Award in 2022. Business Punk named her one of the 100 Minds in Germany Who Are Radically Rethinking Things in 2024. In the personalmagazin, she ranked first on the HR Influencers 2024 list in the “Topstar” category.

 

In the herCAREER Podcast
Joint Generations: Gen Z-Allüren vs. Boomer-Arroganz – Wie wir Vorurteile durchbrechen und Altersdiversität leben
Von Quotenfrauen und alten weißen Männern