Scientific Advisory Board

Dipl. Ing. Dr. techn. Anna-Vera Deinhammer

Head of the Scientific Advisory Board
Endowed Chair of Sustainable Real Estate Development at FH Wien der WKW Professional Field Research Construction and Real Estate Management
Architect, integral engineer, expert for circular economy in the construction industry

Dr. Anna-Vera Deinhammer is a strategist, lobbyist and integral engineer in Vienna. She holds a diploma in architecture and subsequently completed a doctorate in integral engineering in Vienna and Sydney in the field of holistic quality assessment of buildings. All her activities are focused on the creation of a healthy and liveably built environment. She works according to the Quadruple Helix approach, which combines the perspectives of business, science, civil society and politics. Her work focuses on the circular economy in construction, integral building research and engineering science, which she has been contributing to the Circular Economy Forum Austria as a founding member and Director for Circular Cities & Regions since July 2022. Since October 2022, she has represented the Austrian Society for Sustainable Real Estate ÖGNI at the World Green Building Council and the Climate Positive Europe Alliance CPEA in Brussels. She is also intensifying ÖGNI’s cooperation with Austrian municipalities and is involved in standards work in the Austrian Standards Institute’s “Sustainability of Buildings” committee. Since 1 June 2023, she has held an endowed professorship for sustainable real estate development at FHWien, which is intended to provide the real estate industry with scientifically sound impetus for achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and the EU Green Deal. This endowed professorship focuses on the scientific preparation and further development of trends in the currently extremely volatile field of sustainable and resource-conserving built environment. The aim of the Master’s degree programme in Real Estate Management is to generate methods, tools and thus international future fitness both for teaching and for practical use in the real estate and construction industry. The curriculum covers the fields of project development, property development, property valuation, portfolio management, as well as banking and insurance, which are to be examined in a transdisciplinary manner in the intended research activities of the Real Estate Management degree programme.

Photo credit © Wirth

Ron Sharona Cambridge

Academic Tutor and Senior Lecturer

An experienced Personal Academic Tutor and Senior Lecturer, her skills includes the ability to motivate
students and staff, supervisory skills, course validation and leadership (with 100% NSS), strong academic and research aptitudes, and effective verbal and written communication.
She continuously engages in conferences, seminars, workshops, online presentations, roundtables as well as in professional industry and government forums, in the UK and internationally.
She is a conscientious hardworking individual, with a passion for knowledge and achievement, dedicated, supportive, loyal and organised. Ms. Cambridge is highly self-motivated with a great desire to succeed in all areas of work and life.

Dr. Fabiana Di Lorenzo

Human Rights and Policy Advisor

Fabiana Di Lorenzo is an experienced consultant, trainer and policy advisor on Human Rights and Ethical Business. She received a PhD in Law with a research on the role of public-private partnership in the implementation of commitments to respecting human rights and sustainability. Fabiana worked for the UK Government, the International Labour Organisation, and she offered consultancy services to a diverse range of clients including UN agencies, companies, governments and NGOs.

Dr. Elisabeth Dreer, MSc

Senior Scientist, JKU Forschungsinstitut für Bankwesen
Expertin Banking and Finance

Studied economics at the Johannes Kepler University Linz between 1985 and 1990 and obtained her doctorate at the Alpen-Adria University Klagenfurt in 1995. In 2001, she completed a postgraduate programme in Business Administration with a focus on Banking & Finance at the Danube University Krems and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Between 1991 and 1995, she worked as a university assistant at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt and then at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, where she co-authored numerous studies with Prof. Dr Dr h. c. mult. Friedrich Schneider and conducts research in the field of banking. She has been a member of the scientific advisory board of the CSR Dialog Forum for several years and contributes her expertise to projects.

Samuel O Idowo

(MSc, DMS, DPA, FCIS, FRSA)

Banking and Finance

University of London – Banking and Finance

Samuel O Idowo is Senior Lecturer in Accounting, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance & Ethics at London Metropolitan University, UK. Samuel is a named Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries & Adminstrators. He has researched in the field of CSR in 1983 when he studied for his Master’s degree in Account & Finance at the University of Stirling in Scotland, UK. Samuel is s Series Editor for Springer’s CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance Book Series, he led the publication two Springer’s Global reference books on CSR – the Encyclopaedia of CSR and the Dictionary. Samuel has edited about twenty books in the field of CSR. He is a renowned international CSR expert and has been in academia for 28 years.

Dr. Reinhard Felix Paulesich

Expert in sustainable development for companies and regions

Dr. Reinhard Paulesich has been at the newly opened Interdisciplinary Institute for Environment and Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business since 1991. At the beginning of the 1990s, Mr Paulesich refocused his research interests. The basis for this was the structure of Plan Do Check Act. His research support for a number of first movers resulted in a case study design that he has retained to this day. The case studies were (are) the basis for companies to engage external consultants. With regards to the laws of waste management and the evaluation of workplaces, these case studies were (are) created as a support. Among other things, it also serves as an impetus for improving evaluation methods (audit, rating, etc.).

Another core area is the concept of social capital. The Basel II regulations gave rise to a new research interest for Dr. Paulesich: locating the future viability of an organisation and its ability to repay and thus getting banks and companies alike interested in linking the measurement of social capital to the credit assessment. We have been conducting case studies on this topic since 2009. Not always focused on one bank-creditor relationship, but always with the same survey structures, so that the data material remains open for subsequent analyses. For example, some company case studies on climate protection could be used retrospectively to analyse repayment capacity.

Univ. Prof. DI Dr. Marianne Penker

Professor at the Institut für nachhaltige Wirtschaftsentwicklung at Universität für Bodenkultur Vienna (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences)
Sustainability Expert for Agro- und Food Systems

Marianne Penker is Professor for Rural Sociology and Rural Development at the Institute of Sustainable Economic Development at the University of Natural Science and Life Sciences. As sustainability scientist, she is committed to inter- and transdisciplinary research supporting transformative solutions in rural areas in Europe and beyond. Her work, which largely builds on Ostrom’s Social-Ecological-Systems framework, has changed the way people think about agri-food governance and the integration of diverse types of academic and stakeholder knowledge. Via the network of European Academies, she contributed to the SAPEA report on a sustainable food system for the EU and presented its results in front of the European Parliament. Dr. Penker holds the Chair of the UNESCO „Man and the Biosphere“ National Committee at the Austrian Academy of Science. She served as an institutional evaluator of the Wageningen School of Social Sciences and as member of numerous recruiting, promotion and evaluations boards for diverse universities (e.g., Aberdeen, Freiburg, Grenoble Alps, Copenhagen, SLU-Uppsala) and research programmes (e.g., EU, DFG, FWO Belgium, Swiss-NSF, Belmont Forum).

MMag. Dr. Melanie Wiener, MBA

Expert for (Open-) Foresight, Circular Economy und Sustainability-oriented Innovations

Melanie Wiener studied economics and business education at the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) in Linz, Austria and completed her MBA at the Danube University in Krems, Austria. Before returning to the University of Linz as a university assistant in 2014 to complete her doctorate in Strategic Management, she worked in the private sector: 2011-2012 as a communications manager in a PR agency in Vienna and then as a controller in an international corporation. Melanie Wiener has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Integrated Quality Design (IQD) at Johannes Kepler University Linz since August 2017. In both research and teaching, she focuses in particular on the topics of circular economy, sustainability-oriented innovations, open foresight and quality management.

Experts Board

DI Agnes Steinberger-Sendlhofer

Head of Experts Board, fodd technologist & eccos22(R)-Auditor

Agnes Steinberger gained important professional experience as a quality manager in the international food industry in Austria and Canada and completed her studies in food technology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. As a network partner of Quality Austria GmbH, she is the lead auditor for the management systems ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ONR 192500. She is also an authorised eccos22® assessor in the CSR sector. With her profound EFQM knowledge, she also works as an EFQM assessor. Privately, she runs a small mountain farm with her family in Salzburger Land, which offers her “sustainability and future viability at first hand” on a daily basis.

Mag. Doris Bock

Expert in financing and subsidy consulting, independent business consultant for SMEs and start-ups

Doris Bock offers a comprehensive package of services in the field of financing and subsidy consulting, starting with the search for suitable financing options and subsidy programs through to the preparation of the overall financing. This includes support and preparation of financial plans for budget planning and securing financing; preparation of financing via banks and funding agencies, including the preparation of presentation documents; general funding advice on funding content and its implementation priorities in project management; compilation of possible funding instruments for the respective project or company; preparation of the necessary documents and calculations; preparation of the necessary documentation and financing programmes for the respective project or company. This includes the preparation of the necessary documents and calculations for the submission of funding applications, the preparation of the internal company reporting documents required for funding invoicing, such as a corresponding time sheet, project documentation, etc., through to the submission and invoicing of funding applications.

She is managing partner of db.Unternehmer-Beratung GmbH and has been supporting companies in operational and strategic agendas since March 2005. Prior to this, she gained 17 years of professional experience in various functions in the private sector, including at Philips, and completed her business studies at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration.

Mag. Sandra Donke

Psychologist, Auditor, eccos22(R)-Assessorin

Sandra Donke is an expert in quality management and has worked at the voestalpine Foundation for many years. After studying psychology at the University of Salzburg, she completed several internships at VA-Tech in the USA. When she entered the world of work, she worked as a recruiter and in client relationship management at the WIFI qualification network in Linz. She then began her long career at the voestalpine Foundation, where she is still responsible for quality management. She also supervises and supports participants from Vienna and Lower Austria in the application process as well as students and company founders. Special projects and the organisation of assessment centres round off her area of responsibility. Most recently, she also supported the foundation in obtaining the social seal of approval. In addition to her full-time work, Sandra Donke is certified as an auditor and assessor at Quality Austria in the areas of CSR and quality management.

Mag. Susanne Fridl, E.MA

Expert for Human Rights

Susanne Fridl, E.MA completed her law studies at the JKU Johannes Kepler University in Linz with a semester abroad at the Dominican University of California. This was followed by the European Master of Human Rights and Democratisation E.MA at the Global Campus for Human Rights in Venice with a semester abroad at the Universidad de Sevilla. Since 2017, she has completed numerous internships, including at the European Parliament (2017), the Federal Ministry of the Interior (2019), the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs – Permanent Mission of Austria to the OSCE (2019), Caritas Austria (2020/2021) and UNHCR (2021). As a project assistant at Fundaciòn Musol in Guatemala from October 2022 to March 2023, she was responsible for the preparation and implementation of workshops for the indigenous population on the topics of gender and the human right to water as well as the implementation of social media strategies and the creation of advocacy material. Since April 2023, she has been working in legal counselling and representation in asylum and immigration law at the BBU Federal Agency for Care and Support Services.

Born in Upper Austria, she has also been involved as a volunteer in various organisations since 2009, e.g. ÖH JKU Linz, European Law Students’ Association Linz, UNI Management Club, CSR Dialogue Forum and, since 2022, the Club Alpbach Oberösterreich. In 2019 she was honoured with the Study Abroad Excellence Award, in 2022 she received a scholarship for the European Forum Alpbach.

Martina Grimus, MSc

Expert in strategic business development, HR development and corporate management in the fields of health care management and tourism

She is passionate about working with people for people and professionally supporting companies in their development steps and change processes to the “next level”. Moderating strategic topics in an interdisciplinary manner, developing sustainable concepts and providing conceptual support for change processes are both her motivation and her attitude.

Martina Grimus, MSc, has been an independent management consultant since 2105 and advises organisations on change processes and the further development of competencies. She focuses on positive leadership and strength-oriented personnel development as well as strategic business development and customer-centred communication. Her successful work and clients include her involvement in the “future of work” project at Danube University Krems, the “target group-orientated internal communication” project at VAMED KMB, the “B2B Push” project at ÖBB Personenverkehr AG and stakeholder management & support for the “BRAINMEE” product launch for digitAAL Life GmbH.

From 1986 to 2012, she held various management positions with P&L responsibility in the B2B tourism industry and was responsible, among other things, for the successful establishment of Columbus Business Travel GmbH and the development of the two international partnerships, the listed Australian Flight Centre International Group and the German REWE Touristik, as well as the subsequent successful launch of the international brand FCm Travel Solutions in Austria.

After a sabbatical in Qatar / Doha from 2018-2020 with a focus on intercultural skills, she completed her Master’s degree in Health Care Management & Public Health at the Danube University Krems. In addition to her basic commercial tourism training with Matura at the MODUL tourism schools in Vienna, she completed further training and further education in the areas of Positive Leadership PERMA Lead (Dr Ebner), Online Marketing (BFI), Master Coaching (KickOff Consulting), Communication, Master & Trainer (R.O. KNOR), Sales Advantage and Value-Oriented Leadership (DALE CARNEGIE).

Albin Kälin

Expert for Circular Economy

Owner, founder and CEO of EPEA Switzerland GmbH, accredited assessor for the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ certification standard.

Managing Director of Rohner Textil AG / Switzerland, 19 international design awards under his leadership in the 1990s. 1993 Start of the development of the Climatex® product line, the first Cradle to Cradle® products worldwide. Member of the Supervisory Board of Fein Elast Group in Austria, from 2005-2009 Managing Director of EPEA Int. environmental research in Hamburg and 2007-2009 EPEA Nederland. 2009 Foundation of EPEA Switzerland.

EPEA Switzerland GmbH supports companies in various fields of activity in the development and implementation of the Cradle to Cradle® design concept. With an experienced, internationally orientated and interdisciplinary management team, Cradle to Cradle® projects are implemented worldwide in all industries. EPEA Switzerland is an accredited general assessor for the Cradle to Cradle CertificationTM certification standard.

Cradle to Cradle Certified™ is a globally recognised assessment standard for safe, sustainable and recyclable products, details at www.c2ccertified.org. Products Designers, manufacturers and brands around the world rely on the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ certification standard, which, like eccos22®, takes a holistic approach.

Albin Kälin was honoured with the UBS Key Trophy “Rhine Valley Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2001.

DI Dr. Roland Kuras

Expert in the field of sustainable energy solutions and energy management

After a technical education, Dr Kuras completed a degree in mechanical and process engineering and graduated in 1994 with a dissertation on “Fundamentals of sustainable development from an energy industry perspective” at the Vienna University of Technology. Prior to this, he had already gained his first professional experience at Siemens AG in Germany. During and after his studies, he worked at the Scientific Academy of Lower Austria and at the Vienna University of Technology before moving to the management of TechSet GmbH. Since the turn of the millennium, he has been supporting companies in energy issues with his companies PowerSolution Energieberatung GmbH and PowerSolution Errichtung und Betrieb GmbH and, since 2021, in the establishment of energy communities. From 2011-2016, Dr Kuras was a member of the Regulatory Commission pursuant to Section 10 of the Energy Control Act at E-Control. Since 2014, he has been a member of the scientific advisory board of the Department of Building and Environment at Danube University Krems. He is also the initiator and co-founder of the first renewable energy community in Vienna (WGE-Grätzlenergiegemeinschaft eGen).

His lecturing activities cover the topics of energy consumption development – worldwide, energy strategies for regions and at company level, the Energy Efficiency Act, ISO 50001 energy management systems, energy purchasing for major customers, renewable energy communities and energy audits. Dr Kuras is also active in research projects in the areas of optimising energy consumption for industrial companies, e-mobility and energy communities.

Dr. Nayan Mitra

Expert for Sustainability, CSR and Corporate Governance

Dr Nayan Mitra is an international expert in sustainability, CSR and corporate governance. Her company “Sustainable Advancements (OPC) Private Limited” is women-led and primarily aims to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through engagement and adoption (www.sustainableadvancements.com). Under her leadership, Sustainable Advancements has become a leading holistic institution with a national and international reputation in CSR coaching, consulting and research (e.g. the first Women@work study together with the Aspire For Her Foundation, where she is also a mentor for SDG 5).

Nayan Mitra is also the founding president of the Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WICCI) Sustainable Businesses Council. Numerous publications in the CSR series of Springer Verlag (including ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in India: Cases and Development after the Legal Mandate’ in India (2017), ‘Mandated Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from India’ (2019) and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Rising Economies: Fundamentals, Approaches and Case Studies’ (2020), partly together with Dr René Schmidpeter, round off her activities.

Dr Mitra is a recipient of the prestigious Author Award at the Indian CSR Leadership Summit in 2017, 2018 and 2019. She is one of the top 25 CSR leaders in India and was also awarded the Exceptional Woman of Excellence at the Women Economic Forum in New Delhi, India in 2019.

Mag. Elisabeth Moser-Marzi

Lawyer & FH lecturer in environmental, climate and sustainability law, specialising in the Taxonomy Ordinance and in waste and operational waste disposal law

Elisabeth Moser-Marzi studied law in Vienna and Graz. She graduated from the postgraduate programme of the “Interdisciplinary Institute for Environment and Economy” at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration with a degree in “Environmentally oriented corporate management” and “The optimal implementation of the EMAS Regulation“. Moser-Marzi wrote her first article on climate change as a student in 1987 with the title “Die Welt verkommt zum Treibhaus” (Management Report 3/1987). In the wider field of business law, she specialises in advising research, technology and testing facilities as well as plastics-related companies. In the further field of commercial law, she specialises in advising research, technology and testing facilities as well as plastics-related companies. The topics of her numerous publications range from the “Packaging Ordinance” (MANZ 2007) to the interdisciplinary study for the FFG on behalf of the BMvit on “Legal Incentives for the Improvement of Urban Mining in Waste Law” (2014). In 2021, an article was published in the German RECYCLINGmagazin on “Der Kampf um das Pfand” – dealing with the legal aspects of the introduction of a deposit on single-use plastic beverage bottles and cans in Austria. A lectureship at the FH Pinkafeld in the MA course “Energy and Environmental Management” as well as lecture activities such as at the TU Vienna “Creation of legal incentives for urban mining in waste law” or most recently at the TÜV SÜD Academy on “Plastics-relevant packaging aspects of the PPWR” (March 2023) round off her portfolio. She will also be giving presentations on the “Taxonomy Regulation” at the events “Enterprise Climate” (May 2022) and “Connecting Clusters” (March 2023).

Dr. Christoph Müller

Expert for international politics

Dr Christoph Müller has over two decades of experience in policy-related administration in Vienna and Brussels. His work in the Ministry of the Environment, as Attaché at the Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU and as Head of Department in the Federal Chancellery focussed on the conception, coordination and negotiation of cross-cutting policies on sustainable development, environment, climate protection, energy and transport in a national, European and international context. He also has several years of OECD experience and took part in the UN climate conferences in Copenhagen, Cancun and Paris. He teaches on the “Sustainable Economy” programme at WU Vienna, at the Sigmund Freud Private University in Vienna and at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

DI Sabine Nadherny-Borutin

Expert in recycling management with a focus on plastics

Her early specialisation in environmental technology and waste management with a degree in food and biotechnology enabled her to pursue an extensive professional career, including Research and development in drinking and waste water treatment, setting up an environmental analysis laboratory (until submission for accreditation) in cooperation with the third largest European laboratory group, management of a company for labour leasing in the analytical sector and various management positions in waste management (managing director in waste law, project management in R&D projects, authorised signatory for biodiesel production, management of a technical office, etc.), as well as research and teaching in sustainable resource management at the FH Campus Wien.

DI Nadherny-Borutin has been self-employed since 2019 (nachgedacht e.U.). Well-known clients: Plastics Europe (Secretary General), as well as the European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers (ECVM), general representative for API PVC & Environmental Consulting, ÖWAV (lecturer and deputy head of the Plastics Working Committee), WIFI (lecturer in the field of sustainability and waste management). Other functions: Member of the board of the Austrian Research Institute (OFI) and chairwoman of the Packaging Institute, chairwoman of the Austrian Carbon Cycle Circle (ÖCC2). Organiser and lecturer of the Sustainability Manager course with the possibility of personal certification by SystemCert, member of the advisory board of the Bioeconomy Platform, advisory board member of the Austrian Plastics Cluster, cooperation partner of eccos22® with training as an assessor.

Claudia Rankers

Expert in finance & business

Claudia Rankers is an editor, author, member of various juries and regularly in demand as a speaker and panelist as well as for podcasts.

Since 2003, she has been the founder and owner of Rankers Family Office, a multi-family and entrepreneur office that takes care of all financial issues for wealthy private individuals and entrepreneurs.

Previously, she was a director at the Swiss bank UBS, where she managed the assets of wealthy private and corporate clients. As a director at Deutsche Bank, she headed a private banking unit and was responsible for special funds and investments for companies, foundations and associations. Claudia Rankers holds a degree in banking management, is an EFA European Financial Advisor, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Generation Advisor (CGA) and Certified Foundation and Estate Planner (CFEP).

In 2016, she was appointed to the Gründungsallianz and in 2022 to the Startup Board of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economic Affairs. In 2022, she also became a network partner of the Rhineland-Palatinate Transformation Agency. As Honorary Chairwoman of the Rhineland-Palatinate Women’s Council, she is responsible for the topics of finance, business, sustainability and impact. Among other things, Claudia Rankers has founded a network of female entrepreneurs and a think tank. She is the initiator of the nationwide “Successful Women in SMEs” award, which will be held for the third time in 2023 in cooperation with WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management (www.frauen-im-mittelstand.de). With the books “Sustainability – Women Create the Future” in 2021 and “Founding – Women Create the Future in 2022”, she has made over 80 committed female scientists and entrepreneurs visible. In September 2023, the third book will be published with the topic “Unternehmensnachfolge – Frauen schaffen Zukunft” – again with FAZ-Verlag and over 40 best practices. Claudia Rankers is currently working on a sustainability project that aims to enable all small and medium-sized companies with in-depth knowledge to develop a networked corporate strategy, prioritise the appropriate measures and achieve an ESG rating and sustainability report on the path to transformation.

In 2021, Claudia Rankers was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate for almost 30 years of voluntary work.

Mag. Andreas Schneider

CSR Expert

Andras Schneider has been Head of Department for European and International Family and Youth Policy at the Austrian Federal Ministry for Families and Youth since 2012, where he is responsible for Erasmus+ and quality aspects of youth work, among other things. From 2007 to 2012, he was responsible for social policy and corporate social responsibility at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. He also built up the area of standardisation policy there and was on the board of the CSR entrepreneur platform respACT, a jury member of the TRIGOS CSR award and an advisor to the Centre for a Humane Market Economy. From 2004 to 2006, Schneider worked as a political, economic and European expert in the cabinet of Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik. Prior to this, he was responsible for EU enlargement, EU lobbying and COREPER in the European Department of the Chamber of Commerce and worked in the Federal Government’s Information Office for the introduction of euro notes and coins and EU enlargement.

DI Anja Schröder

Certified expert in sustainability communication, certified PR consultant and agricultural engineer specialising in landscape development.

Anja Schröder, with a deep understanding of sustainability from over 30 years in communication and consulting, offers comprehensive expertise on the broad spectrum of sustainability topics. After completing her studies (now environmental sciences), she was initially a research assistant at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart and then worked in numerous different positions in the communications industry. For more than 10 years, she was the strategic head of the communications department of Umwelttechnik BW, the state agency for environmental technology and resource efficiency in Baden-Württemberg.

At the same time, she has worked as a freelance journalist and web copywriter for Wortweberei since 1992 and later freelanced with “stay hungry Markenkommunikation”. Her services range from copywriting, strategic communication, brand management and events to process development.

With the founding of “UNTIL WE ROAR”, she is now focussing her services closely on sustainability communication, consulting, reporting, training and speaking. She is passionate about offering sustainability workshops and training courses that aim to reduce complexity in the context of sustainability and increase participants’ expertise. She supports companies and organisations in communicating sustainability services authentically and guides them through the changes in the communications sector brought about by regulations such as the Green Claims Directive. As part of this strategic transformation consultancy, new reporting obligations such as those arising from the CSRD are also addressed Together. In cooperation with consulting partners. Anja Schröder takes on the interface management between companies, consulting and auditing.

Dr. h.c. Brunhilde Schram, MAS, MBA

Expert in CSR & Sustainability, Consultant, Coach, lecturer, auditor & assessor

CSR/sustainability expert, consultant and coach for resource-conserving corporate management and change management, lecturer, EFQM assessor and internal auditor in the field of CSR and sustainability.

Studied at the University of Salzburg, Krems and at the Open University in London as well as in Heidelberg and Bielefeld in the fields of “Economic, Psychology and General Management and Knowledge Management”. Limak training as a supervisory board member and intensive further training in Basel II. Many years of experience in export and projects in industry, SMEs and the service sector. In 2022, she was awarded the title Doctor in Philosophy honoris causa by Jharkhand Rai University, India, for her commitment to sustainability.

Awards and honours from various ministries and state governments for special achievements in the field of education and business. Publication on the topic of “Implementing and anchoring the future concept of corporate social responsibility in corporate management”. Involvement as 2nd CSR federal and state spokesperson for the promotion of CSR topics. Initiator of the expert conference “Reichersberg Sustainability Dialogues”, Chapter 22.

Mag. Doris Schulz

Media & PR expert, coach, initiator of the Women Excellence Circle, cross-mentor and the podcast series “Raus aus der Couch” (Get off the couch)

Self-employed media woman, PR consultant, media trainer and coach, initiator of the Women Excellence Circle, Cross-Mentorin and the podcast series “Raus aus der Couch”.

From 2009 – Oct. 2015 Member of Parliament for the Upper Austrian People’s Party and since 2011 Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Messe Wels and thus President of Austria’s second largest trade fair company. Studied German language and literature and history at the Karl Franzens University in Graz, while already working as an editor, scriptwriter and designer for radio and television at ORF (Austrian TV & Radio).

From 1995 to 2001 managing director, production manager and editor-in-chief of the film production company TEAMWORK in Leonding with productions for 3 SAT, Pro 7, RTL, programme development for TV magazines, museum design, first in-house television in Austria. Project development and support for the province of Upper Austria, “Girls’ Day”, “Political training for women”, Volkshilfe, Caritas, GZO Wels, Chamber of Agriculture, Upper Austrian Medical Association, development of the PR department for the Diakonie Centre Spattstraße.

Numerous publications in various German-language magazines, as well as several narrative non-fiction books for various publishers. 2005 – 2014 own “Verlag Medienfrau” publishing house. Schulz gained a great deal of experience in political agendas as founder and honorary spokesperson for the women’s network in the Upper Austrian Press Club, from 2004 as Chairwoman of Aktion Leben OÖ and since 2011 as Chairwoman of Verein Alleinerziehend. She has done voluntary party political work as city leader of ÖVP Frauen Wels, deputy state leader of OÖVP Frauen and on the state party executive of the OÖVP until 2015 and in citizen participation projects.

Mag. Andrea Sihn-Weber, CSE

Sustainability expert & transformation designer with 30 years of management experience

Andrea Sihn-Weber, who studied business administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and is a Certified Supervisory Expert, has over 30 years of management experience in the financial sector. She has also worked extensively in all areas of corporate sustainability and ESG for over 20 years.

Since 2024, she has been working as an independent management consultant for ASW-Advisory, focussing on the design and support of sustainable transformation processes. She is highly committed to realising the vision “Let’s shape a sustainable future” in order to contribute to a positive long-term impact on society and the environment. Prior to this, she was Head of Group ESG & Sustainability Management at Raiffeisen Bank International for 12 years. As part of the Group-wide management of the sustainability strategy, this activity also included an intensive examination of the requirements of responsible banking. She was also appointed Managing Director of the Raiffeisen Sustainability Initiative in 2012. Through this platform for sustainable corporate governance and social responsibility, numerous projects in the fields of business, environment and social affairs were implemented together with the 22 renowned Austrian member organisations.

She began her career in 1988 at the consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble. At the end of 1989, she moved to Raiffeisen-Leasing, where she worked for many years as Head of Marketing and Public Relations and was responsible for the company’s successful positioning in the field of green energy and electromobility. Andrea Sihn-Weber is active as an editor of management books – most recently with the publications “CSR und Klimawandel” and “CSR und Inklusion” published by Springer Verlag – and also passes on her expertise and experience in lectures and talks. Both books are only availabe in German.

DI Harald Strommer

EFQM Expert & eccos22(R)-Assessor

Montanuniversität Leoben Petroleum Engineering, consulting in the field of lean management and production management, key figures and key figure systems. Lecturer at the University of Leoben and various universities of applied sciences. Lecturer at the University of Leoben and various universities of applied sciences.

Network partner Quality Austria/ Assessor and Auditor

Business Partner “successfactory management coaching gmbh”

Ing. Erwin Trinkl-Sebald

Logistics Expert & eccos22(R)-Assessor

Ing. Erwin Trinkl-Sebald has been Head of Logistics at Kone AG in Austria, a subsidiary of the globally active family business Kone, since 2020. He has launched a future-oriented project there, = e-cargo bikes for service technicians, which is already being implemented in many of the Group’s countries. This project was also honoured with the VCÖ Mobility Award 2021. Prior to this, he worked in management consulting (ECONSULT) and management (gabarage upcycling GmbH, LOGIS Industriedienstleistungen) and in logistics companies (cargo partner GmbH, Tibbett & Britten Austria GmbH). From 2009 to 2016, he headed the Supply Chain Network of A1 Telekom Austria. In addition to his work at Kone, he is an apprentice examiner at the WKJO and a trainer at bfi Vienna. In addition to the VCÖ Mobility Award, he was nominated Logistics Manager of the Year in 2012 and received the Logistics Award from the Logistics Network Association in 2011. He is accredited as an assessor for the eccos22® Management Assessment by Quality Austria.

Mag. Christoph Wurm

Sustainable corporate developer with 18 years of banking experience

Christoph Wurm has been an independent management consultant since 2021 and is intensively involved in the interaction of strategy – organisation – people – finance and sustainability. Prior to that, he worked at VBK Bank for 18 years, where he initially headed the steering, board secretariat, risk management, credit reorganisation and legal departments as well as the Basel II project Mr Wurm was appointed to the Executive Board in 2007 and, as CFO/CRO, was responsible for Human Resources, Risk Management, Credit Management, Infrastructure, IT, Marketing, Accounting, Controlling, Product Management, Internal Audit, Legal, Compliance, Treasury and the Executive Board Secretariat. From 2015 to 2021, he was Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of VKB-Bank in Linz.

Currently, Mr Wurm is also a member of the Supervisory Board of VA Intertrading, Vice President of the Management Club Upper Austria and an auditor for both Schuldnerhilfe and the CSR Dialogue Forum. Previous mandates include board member at SOS Menschenrechte, president of the Upper Austrian Stiftskonzerte, supervisory board member at OÖ KGG, Athos Immobilien AG and S Wohnbaubank and many years of involvement with the Upper Austrian Scouts.

Mr Wurm studied law and sociology at the Johannes Kepler University Linz.

Photo credit © Antje Wolm