The Heart of the Community: Honoring Marty Menard with the Inaugural SAPinsider Member of the Year Award

The human element in business software can easily be obscured by the complex discourse of cloud deployments and digital transformations in the rapidly evolving enterprise technology landscape. Yet, at the SAPinsider 2026 Las Vegas conference, the community took a deeply personal moment to celebrate the people driving these innovations. During this event, SAPinsider—the world’s largest SAP membership group boasting over two million members across 205 countries—presented its inaugural Member of the Year Award to Marty Menard, former CIO and current Advisory Board Member of Pacific Coast Companies.

Celebrating Transformation and Mentorship

The annual SAPinsider Awards recognize forward-looking organizations and leaders achieving measurable business impact through SAP innovation, cybersecurity, and ERP modernization. However, the Member of the Year Award also carries a profoundly personal weight.

Named in honor of Rizal “Riz” Ahmed, the former Chief Research Officer at Wellesley Information Services, who passed away in 2025, the award celebrates mentorship and community leadership. Ahmed had a true passion for the SAP community, known for his deep expertise and his philosophy of always “paying it forward.” Whether leading benchmarking studies or offering one-on-one guidance, he was a mentor who generously shared his time to assist anyone in the industry.

Accepting the award, Menard reflected on a friendship with Ahmed that spanned only five years but “felt like twenty.” Menard shared that it was impossible to say no to Riz because of the genuine empathy and support he constantly extended to others. Presenting the honor, James Bedard, Chairman and CEO of Wellesley Information Services, recalled Ahmed as someone always ready to assist peers navigating the complexities of SAP.

Actionable Insights from a Community Leader

For Menard, this inaugural recognition underscores the indispensable value of peer collaboration. He actively advises technology leaders, especially those still operating on SAP ECC or early adopters of SAP S/4HANA, to seek out practical, road-tested advice from fellow practitioners rather than relying solely on vendor marketing.

Looking ahead, Menard plans to use his platform to help expand SAPinsider’s global CIO events and to share actionable operational strategies. For instance, he challenges CIOs to view their board of directors not as a defensive reporting burden, but as vital allies who can provide the necessary air cover for modernization initiatives. When advocating for an ERP upgrade, Menard stresses that leaders should focus on the strategic cost of inaction rather than just traditional return-on-investment metrics.

Ultimately, this award serves as a powerful reminder that while advanced technologies drive modern business, it is the spirit of selfless service and community leadership that truly powers the SAP ecosystem.