board

Gerald Gerstbauer  President

Gerald Gerstbauer was born 1964 in Vienna, he is Head of Public Sector and Healthcare at Atos IT Solutions and Services GmbH Austria and CEE. After working at the Austrian Social Insurance and the Federal Ministry of Employment, Health and Social Welfare he began his work at Siemens Business Services GmbH in 2000 as Manager of several departments. 2008 he became CEO of Wellcon Gmbh for Health and Medicine until 2010. Since 2013 he is President of ataz.

Dorothea Gros, M.A.I.S., LL.B.  Secretary General

Dorothea Gros (former Kipperman), is Country Sales Manager at B. Braun Austria. She formerly was COO for Healthcare and Life Sciences in Austria at Atos IT Solutions and Services GmbH. From 2007-2015, she worked as Head of Business Development and Legal Counsel at the law firm Lansky, Ganzger + partner. She has also been Secretary General of the Austrian-Israeli Chamber of Commerce and Secretary General of ataz. She graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and holds a Law and Economics degree from the University of Birmingham (UK). Since January 2018, she has been again elected as Secretary General of ataz.

KR Ing. Wolfgang Hesoun  Vice President

KR Ing. Wolfgang Hesoun, born in 1960, worked for the Porr Group for over 20 years, the last three years as CEO. From 2010 to May 2023, he was General Manager of Siemens Austria. He is still active on various supervisory boards of large companies. He now uses his expert knowledge and experience in the areas of corporate management nationally, but also internationally, as a consultant.

Dr. Barbara Kolm  Board Member

Dr. Barbara Kolm is president of the Friedrich A. v. Hayek Institute and founder and director of the Austrian Economics Center (AEC) and the international conference series Free Market Road Show. She holds senior management roles in the private sector and NGOs and deals intensively with efficiency, financing and legitimization issues of government institutions, infrastructure delivery and public administration. She makes economic analyses and expertises in the areas of public finance, budget and structural reforms; she also teaches at University.

Mag. Silvia Grünberger, MBA  Board Member

Silvia Grünberger is Managing Partner at Rosam.Grünberger.Jarosch & Partner and advises her clients on strategic positioning in business, politics and the media. Previously, she worked for 13 years in politics, from 2002 to 2013 she was a member of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament. Silvia Grünberger holds a degree in psychology, journalism and communication from the University of Vienna and is a certified life and social counselor. She also completed a postgraduate degree: Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Danube University Krems. For her outstanding achievements for the Republic of Austria, Silvia Grünberger was awarded the Great Golden Medal of Honor.

Günter Dörflinger  Board Member

Günter Dörflinger worked as a journalist and later as an advisor at the headquarters of the Social Democratic Party of Austria. Thereafter he became member of the Styrian “Landtag” (legislative assembly). For seven years he was member of the Styrian Government, responsible for Youth, Health and Hospitals. In 2003 he became CEO of the “Energie Steiermark AG”, division “Gas and Heating”, in 2009 managing director of Christof Holding AG. Since 2015 Günter Dörflinger is COO of Christof Industries GmbH..

Harald Krieger  Board Member

Harald Krieger, born 1956 in Graz, studied law and business administration in Graz. From 1987 to 2000 he worked for the Austrian Inland Revenue Office and as tax and company auditor for major companies in Styria. In 2000 he moved into the private sector as managing partner of a tax consulting, auditing, and business consulting firm. In 2003, Harald Krieger was designated as CFO and partner of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU Wolf D. Prix & Partner ZT GmbH.

Gabriel Lansky  Board Member

Gabriel Lansky is a Managing Partner with the international law firm Lansky, Ganzger + partner. He has more than 30 years of experience in corporate and criminal law, and represents the Azerbaijani government before the European Court for Human Rights in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Benedikt Reithofer  Treasurer

Benedikt Reithofer graduated from Vienna University of Economics and later did his MBA at Cambridge (UK). He worked for several “big four” companies before taking on industry roles at DELL and most recently as CFO at the international arm of steel producer NLMK. He is a CPA and auditor. His focus currently lies on consultancy and investments.