Meet our leadership team
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Christine Catasta
Christine Catasta was appointed CEO of ÖBAG on June 9 2021. She is an experienced business leader, having served as CEO at PwC Austria before joining ÖBAG in 2020. At PwC, Christine had a distinguished career spanning more than 38 years. Christine was a member of the PwC leadership team since 1994, and founded and developed the management consulting division, which she headed until 2018. Catasta completed her studies at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, specializing in accounting and auditing. She is a certified Austrian auditor and tax advisor. Christine holds supervisory board positions with Verbund, Erste Bank der Österreichische Sparkassen AG, Casinos Austria AG and Austrian Airlines.
DIRECTOR
Maximilian Schnödl
Maximilian Schnödl leads ÖBAG’s investment management and strategy. Prior to joining ÖBAG in 2020, Maximilian was CEO of US technology company Springbrook Software. From 2014 to 2017, he served as COO, CFO and CSO at Accela, a leading provider of e-government solutions. In addition, from 2014 to 2021, Maximilian was a member of the supervisory board of BRZ, the market-leading technology partner of the public sector in Austria. Between 2006 and 2014, he held a number of executive positions across Deutsche Bank’s global offices in Frankfurt, Moscow, New York and San Francisco, serving most recently as Vice President, Group Technology / Strategy. Maximilian has a doctorate degree from the University of Vienna, Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He holds supervisory board positions at Austrian Post and Springbrook Software.
DIRECTOR
Martin Holzinger
Martin Holzinger heads the ÖBAG operations team. He brings 15 years of experience across strategy consulting and M&A, with a focus on the financial services industry in Austria and CEE. In addition to his legal studies, he completed an M.B.A. at Nyenrode University (NL) and Kellogg University (US). He holds supervisory board positions at BIG and its subsidiary ARE, as well as at APK.
Director
Aakriti Chandihok
Aakriti Chandihok heads the legal and compliance department at ÖBAG. Prior to joining ÖBAG she gained international work experience both in legal practice as well as in management consulting and focuses both on corporate and capital markets law as well as sustainability and governance. Aakriti is qualified to practice law in Austria and New York and completed her studies at the University of Vienna and holds an LL.M. degree from Columbia Law School.
Supervisory board of Österreichische Beteiligungs AG
ÖBAG‘s supervisory board consists of six independent board members and three employee representatives of the three largest companies by revenue under ÖBAG’s ownership.
CHAIRMAN OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD
Helmut Kern
Throughout his career, Helmut Kern held leading positions in the consulting industry, e.g. as a global partner at Deloitte Consulting and Head of Consulting at PwC Austria. He has more than 25 years of experience serving on supervisory boards of Austrian and international companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE250). Until mid-2020, he was general manager of the Austrian hospital group “Barmherzige Brüder”. Helmut holds degrees in Business administration from WU Vienna, and history and medieval history from the University of Vienna. Additionally, he completed programs at Columbia University and Harvard University. Currently, Helmut is Chairman of the Economic Council of Statistik Austria and Deputy Chairman of the University Council of the University of Vienna, as well as a member of various other advisory boards and committees.
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD
Günther Helm
Since 2019, Günther Helm has served as CEO of German drugstore chain Müller. Between 2010 and 2018, Günther was CEO and partner of the retail company Hofer KG, where he was responsible for Aldi in the US, Australia, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and Hungary. Under his leadership, Aldi successfully entered the Italian market. In his role as CEO, he was responsible for the acquisition of Aldi Süd Group, including procurement operations in Asia. Before that, he held various international positions at Aldi / Hofer. Günther studied law at Johannes Kepler University Linz and at University of Cambridge.
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD
Karl Ochsner
Karl Ochsner is majority shareholder and CEO of Ochsner Wärmepumpen GmbH. After joining the family business – founded in 1872 – in 2008, he transformed the company into an international technology leader with approximately 280 employees. Karl holds several managing director positions within the group. Before joining the company, he worked for Xerox in Germany for nine years, e.g. as general manager and member of the management team. In addition to ÖBAG, Karl Ochsner also serves as a member of the supervisory board at ÖBB Holding AG.
SUPERVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Susanne Höllinger
Susanne Höllinger is Managing Director of SHE Advisory E.U., a consulting company with a focus on corporate and financial advisory. Previously, she was CEO of Kathrein Privatbank AG between 2013 and 2018. Before joining Kathrein Privatbank, she worked in various functions at Erste Bank AG starting in 2006, where she was ultimately appointed Head of Private Banking. Susanne holds a master’s degree in economics and a Ph.D. in health management and is currently a member of various advisory committees. In addition to her work as Chair of the Audit Committee of ÖBAG, Susanne is Chair of the Supervisory Board of Vienna Airport, Chair of the Lower Austrian State Health Agency, Deputy Chair of FIBEG, Chair of the Board of Forum Morgen Privatstiftung and Board Member of Sepp Michelfeit Privatstiftung.
SUPERVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Iris Ortner
Iris Ortner took over management of the IGO Industries group in 2013. IGO Industries is an international group of technology companies, a leader in technical building equipment and industrial plant construction. Iris was a project manager in Poland between 1997 and 2000. Before that, she worked as a consultant at Siemens Management Consulting in Germany and the US between 2002 and 2003. Iris graduated from ETH Zurich with a degree in mechanical engineering and holds an M.B.A. from INSEAD (Fontainebleau). She currently holds supervisory board positions at PORR, UBM and ELIN.
SUPERVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Caroline Toifl
Caroline Toifl is a self-employed attorney and tax advisor who runs her own consulting companies, which are specialized in advising, representing and defending clients in tax and white-collar crime proceedings as well as in compliance and liability prevention. Caroline Toifl studied law in Vienna and Sydney and worked as a university assistant at the Institute of Finance Law at the University of Vienna, where she also completed her doctoral thesis. She gathered her professional experience in internationally renowned tax and law firms as well as in the Cabinet of the Austrian Ministry of Justice. In addition to her professional activities, Caroline Toifl is a member of the Dispute Resolution Committee and the Disciplinary Board of the Austrian Chamber of Tax Consultants and Auditors, as well as a board member of the Society of Tax Consultants and Auditors (ÖGSW) and of the Hubert Hahnekamp Privatstiftung.
EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVE
Helmut Köstinger
Helmut Köstinger serves as employee representative at Österreichische Post. He has been with the company since 1982. Since 2010, he has been Chairman of the central committee. He currently also serves a member of the supervisory board of Österreichische Post.
EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVE
Werner Luksch
Werner Luksch serves as employee representative at Telekom Austria. He has been working with the company in various positions since 1988 and has been a union member for many years. Since 2017, he has served as Chairman of the central committee of Telekom Austria. Werner is a member of the supervisory board of A1 Telekom Austria and APK.
EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVE
Nicole Schachenhofer
Nicole Schachenhofer is a member of the Supervisory Board of OMV AG and is also Chairwoman of the Employees’ Council of OMV Austria Exploration & Production GmbH. Schachenhofer studied petroleum engineering at the University of Leoben and has been with OMV AG since 2010. She is a member of the Supervisory Board at APK Pensionskassen AG and OMV Austria Exploration & Production GmbH.
