Press release, September 23, 2020

Christine Catasta and Christian C. Pochtler hold mandates at Austrian Airlines AG and the Austrian Air Transport Private Foundation (ÖLP) respectively, and Casinos Austria AG (CASAG). 

With two new appointments, the Austrian Federal Holding and Investment Company (ÖBAG) is strengthening the supervisory board expertise of Austrian Airlines AG (AUA) and Casinos Austria AG (CASAG), respectively. The nomination of Christine Catasta and Christian C. Pochtler represents a consistent continuation of ÖBAG's established focus on bringing in experts to its supervisory boards.

ÖBAG board member Thomas Schmid: “Thanks to their proven competence and experience, Christine Catasta and Christian C. Pochtler will make a valuable contribution to the supervisory boards and will consistently advocate for Austria as a business location within the companies.”

Christine Catasta, recently appointed Head of Investment Management at ÖBAG and previously CEO of PwC Austria, has been nominated by ÖBAG for the vacant position on the Supervisory Board of Casinos Austria AG. Given CASAG's current challenges, Christine Catasta is expected to support and guide the company through this difficult period with her extensive expertise.

Simultaneously, effective November 3, Christine Catasta will assume mandates on the Supervisory Board of Austrian Airlines AG and on the Management Board of the Austrian Air Transport Private Foundation (ÖLP), the majority shareholder of Austrian Airlines (via the Austrian Air Transport Holding), based on the Austrian Airlines location agreement. Her existing supervisory board mandates at the energy supplier Verbund and at Erste Bank der österreichischen Sparkassen AG remain unaffected.

Implementation of the site agreement

The Austrian Federal Holding and Investment Company (ÖBAG) has nominated the experienced Viennese entrepreneur Christian C. Pochtler (Managing Partner of Pochtler Industrieholding / iSi Group) as the new Chairman of the Board of the Austrian Air Transport Private Foundation. As an entrepreneur and board member of an internationally interconnected industrial group, Pochtler possesses the necessary expertise and many years of experience required for this role. At the same time, as President of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) Vienna, Pochtler understands the great importance of Austrian Airlines and the Vienna hub for Austria and is therefore ideally positioned to represent the interests of Austria as a business location in his new position.

The appointment of board members at Austrian Airlines and ÖLP by ÖBAG was based on the site agreement between Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, and the Republic of Austria, in order to ensure compliance with all site-related requirements agreed upon within the financing package for the benefit of the Austrian location. The relevant Lufthansa bodies approved the nominations on October 27, 2020.

ÖBAG board member Thomas Schmid: “Both CASAG and Austrian Airlines are facing major challenges in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, requiring strategic decisions from management. With the new supervisory board members, ÖBAG is strengthening the expertise of the supervisory bodies in both companies by adding proven business experts to provide even stronger support to management during the initiated change processes in these challenging times.”

https://www.oebag.gv.at/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/20201030-Presseaussendung-OeBAG.pdf