Search for Öbag CEO continues: Klauser declines, Ametsreiter seen as frontrunner

According to well-informed circles, Andreas Klauser, CEO of the crane and lifting technology group Palfinger, was also approached for the Öbag chairmanship. However, Klauser declined because he had agreed with owner Hubert Palfinger to remain at the helm of the crane manufacturer for at least two more years. This means an industry insider, regarded as an experienced industrial manager, is out of the running for now for the state holding position.

Klauser stays in Salzburg

In industry circles, Hannes Ametsreiter is currently being discussed as a potential candidate. Ametsreiter is no stranger in the domestic business landscape: he has headed, among others, Vodafone Germany and A1 Telekom Austria. According to information from his circle, his place of residence is in Munich, raising the question of whether he would be willing to relocate permanently to Vienna to take on the operational leadership of Öbag.

Öbag is a central interface between the Republic and its listed shareholdings. It bundles, among other things, the stakes in OMV, the largest domestic industrial group, as well as in A1 Telekom Austria, and represents the federal government's interests as owner. This means the person of the CEO is assigned not only an economic but also a political key role.

Key role at the interface of politics and corporations

According to Austrian media reports, also under close discussion are Thomas Gangl, former OMV board member, Thomas Arnoldner, former A1 CEO, as well as representatives of Austrian industrial policy. Edith Hlawati, the former Öbag president, had stepped down in the course of a politically heated debate, which also makes the search for a successor politically sensitive. The ÖVP, as the dominant force in the federal government, has stressed that the selection should be made on the basis of qualification and experience.

For the federal government, the personnel matter is also delicate because Öbag is tied to central decisions on the energy transition, digital infrastructure, and industrial location policy. At the interface between politics and listed companies, observers expect not only management experience but also political skill in dealing with ministries, parliament, and the public. However, according to one report, the final decision on the appointment could still take weeks.

Open decision in the coming weeks

There are conflicting accounts regarding the precise modalities of the approach to Ametsreiter. While one side stresses that concrete talks have already taken place, other reports counter that only informal sounding-out is under way. A role on a future supervisory board rather than on the executive board is also not ruled out in Vienna.

What is certain is that the Öbag leadership is to be definitively filled in the coming weeks. The holding's upcoming supervisory board meeting is regarded as a possible date at which a personnel decision could be presented. Until then, the appointment remains one of the best-kept secrets of domestic industrial policy and the subject of much speculation.