105 Applicants for ORF Director Positions: How the Selection Process for Pig's Leadership Team Works

A total of 13 top positions are up for application: the four central directorates 'Audience und Plattformen', 'Finanzen und Verwaltung', 'Programm und Brands', and 'Technologie und Innovation', as well as the nine regional directorates in the federal provinces. According to Pig, the newly created 'Audience & Plattformen' directorate, which will in future also encompass the previous radio division and bundle digital platforms, is the most fiercely contested.

These Positions Are Being Filled

Among the applicants are several incumbent directors applying for another term. These include ORF Program Director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz, who is applying for both the Audience and the Program directorate, ORF Technology Director Harald Kräuter, who is considered a promising candidate for an extension, as well as Eva Schindlauer for the Finance directorate. ORF III Co-Managing Director Kathrin Zierhut-Kunz has publicly confirmed her application for the Finance directorate.

The deputy regional director Kathrin Zierhut-Kunz as well as several incumbent regional directors have also disclosed their applications. Edgar Weinzettl (Vienna), Esther Mitterstieler (Tyrol), and Werner Herics (Burgenland) have publicly acknowledged their candidacies. Magazine editor-in-chief Lisa Totzauer applied for both the Program directorate and the Director General position.

Internal Candidates and External Applicants

From outside ORF, media consultant Matthias Settele, among others, has applied. Settele, who was General Director of Slovakia's largest private broadcaster Markíza for over ten years, confirmed applications for the Finance, Program, and Audience directorates. FM4 chief Doroteja Gradištanac is also said to have applied for the Audience directorate, but did not comment on it. ORF journalist Sonja Sagmeister, Kronehit Managing Director Philipp König, and ORF Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Prokop are also among the applicants.

The selection runs via a so-called scorecard matrix, which Pig uses for creating shortlists, application interviews, and nominations. The scorecard matrix includes various criteria in the categories 'Basisanforderungen', 'Funktionale Anforderungen', and 'Management-Anforderungen'. It is identical for the regional directorates; for the four central directorates it varies in part due to directorate-specific requirements.

Scorecard Matrix and External Advisors

The procedure is to comply with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the ORF Act, and the Rules of Procedure of the Foundation Council. For the first time, the process is accompanied by external HR consultants: Kathrin Schulte from Hamburg, a consultant for HR Executive Search and Leadership Assessment, and Bakel Walden from Zurich, a consultant for digital transformation and public value, who will advise on shortlist creation and the conduct of application interviews.

In the current week, shortlists for the 13 jobs are now being drawn up. According to the designated ORF chief, on July 16 the formal requirements of the applications were checked. From July 27, application interviews are to be conducted on this basis. From August 3, nominations along with justifications will be delivered to the Foundation Council.

Timeline Until the Decision on August 11

The decision on ORF's future leadership will be made on August 11 in a meeting of the Foundation Council. The body with its 35 members will vote on the team that Pig proposes. Pig will lead ORF as Director General from 2027. In the vote, following earlier practice there could initially be separate packages for central and regional directorates.

One innovation concerns the relationship with the provincial governors: The former right to prior information about personnel proposals for the respective regional directorate was abolished in the spring under the ORF Act. Pig had told the Kronen Zeitung: "Die Landeshauptleute sollen erst aus der Zeitung erfahren, wer es wird." This is intended to strengthen the independence of the Foundation Council's decision.

Gender Balance as an Open Question

Pig has also set himself the goal of a balanced gender distribution, particularly for the four central directorates. Given the current applicant picture of around 60 percent men and 40 percent women, this goal could become a challenge. Should only few women be found among the applicants for the Finance and Technology directorates, the team might ultimately have to be composed differently.

Numerous further names are circulating in the industry. ORF chief producer Michael Krön, who was most recently responsible for the ESC for ORF, Vorarlberg's regional studio editor-in-chief Angelika Simma-Wallinger, ORF Entertainment chief Martin Gastinger, as well as Matthias Settele are considered applicants for the Program directorate. For the Audience directorate, alongside Gradištanac, Prokop and head of Digital Media Stefan Pollach are also being mentioned. König also applied for the Technology and Innovation directorate.

Legally, the selection procedure is not beyond challenge: As reported from ORF circles, unsuccessful applicants could contest the decision before the media authority KommAustria and potentially further instances. This applies in particular if the formal criteria of the scorecard matrix or the procedural rules set by the Foundation Council are not consistently observed. Pig had already announced after his appointment in June that applications would not be made public.

Overall, the rush of applications makes clear that ORF, as Austria's largest media house, continues to be regarded as a career platform despite pressure to save costs and competition from streaming providers. With the bundling of radio and digital platforms in the new Audience directorate and the first-time use of external consultants, Pig is apparently seeking to adapt structures to changed media usage. Industry observers also interpret the high number of applicants as an indication that the public-law broadcaster is in a phase of reorientation.