Rajesh links to an insightful Businessweek article about Hasso Plattner:

"Other early influences shaped Plattner's career. He worshiped John F. Kennedy. "He had a vision," Plattner says, shifting into a nasal Boston accent to mimic Kennedy's voice: "We want to get to the moon in 10 years." For a kid growing up in beaten-down Germany, Kennedy represented the promise of a new, can-do era. When Kennedy was shot, Plattner was devastated. "I couldn't believe it," he says. "I went to bed and listened to the radio." Plattner followed in the footsteps of a grandfather and studied engineering--intent on being where the action was."

I just read about bill Clinton's reaction about Kennedys death. It seems that both men Hasso Plattner and the young Bill Clinton had been determined to achieve more in their life..