iconannual 2016 - The European Business and Invetsment Magazine

Issue 2016 

Official Magazine of iconvienna _ The European Business and Investment Forum 

presented by 

2016 

INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

SETTING NEW 

STANDARDS 

THE INDEPENDENT 

EUROPEAN IP 

INSTITUTE 

www.europeanbrandinstitute.com

iconvienna 

Editorial 

Innovative 

Entrepreneurship _ A Key 

Competitive Advantage 

KR DI Dr. Gerhard Hrebicek 

President iconvienna 

Editor 

ıconvıenna 

ınvestments for europe 

Im Einklang mit dem Motto „Make contacts to contracts“ 

und dem diesjährigen Konferenzschwerpunkt 

„International Summit on Innovative Entrepreneurship“, 

gibt iconvienna erfahrenen Opinion Leader 

wieder die Möglichkeit Erfahrungen zu tauschen und 

interessante Diskussionen zu führen sowie Experten 

und Entscheidungsträgern die Chance neue Kontakte 

zu knüpfen und damit zum wirtschaftlichen Erfolg 

beizutragen. 

Das renommierte internationale Forum hat in den 

letzten Jahren seine Horizonte und Ost-West Beziehungen 

von Nord- und Lateinamerika über West-, Zentralund 

Osteuropa bis nach China erweitert. In diesem 

Sinne freuen wir uns die Volksrepublik China im Rahmen 

des diesjährigen Forums erstmals willkommen 

zu heißen. 

Die Young Leaders erwarten auch heuer sehr interessante 

Diskussionsthemen im Rahmen des youLEAD – 

Young Leaders Dialogue, wo junge Unternehmer und 

High Potentials mit dem Ziel aufeinander treffen, mit 

ihren kreativen Ideen „ein besseres Europa zu kreieren“. 

Mein besonderer Dank geht auch dieses Jahr wieder 

an die Stadt Wien und den Bürgermeister Dr. Michael 

Häupl für seinen Ehrenschutz. Ich möchte mich auch 

bei unseren weiteren Partnern Wirtschaftskammer 

Wien und Österreich, Ministerien und Botschaften, 

Vertretern von Regionen, Städten, Unternehmen, Medienpartnern 

sowie bei allen unseren Beiratsmitgliedern 

und dem European Brand Institute für die gute 

Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen der iconvienna sowie der 

dritten Publikation des iconannual bedanken. 

Für die Zukunft wünsche ich Ihnen gute Beziehungen. 

Nutzen Sie dieses Magazin ganz nach unserem 

Motto “MAKE CONTACTS TO CONTRACTS“! 

According to the motto „Make contacts to contracts“ 

and this year's topic “International Summit on Innovative 

Entrepreneurship”, iconvienna provides 

an opportunity for experienced opinion leaders to 

exchange their knowledge and lead interesting discussions 

and gives experts and decision makers the chance to establish 

new contacts and contribute to the economic success. 

The prestigious international forum has recently extended 

its horizons and East-West relationships from North 

and Latin America across Western, Central and Eastern Europe 

to China. Therefore, we are glad to welcome the People's 

Republic of China to this year's forum for the first time. 

Young Leaders Dialogue is offering Young Leaders interesting 

discussion topics for the third time this year. you- 

LEAD gives young entrepreneurs and high potentials the 

chance to meet and “create a better Europe” with their ideas. 

I would particularly like to thank the City of Vienna 

and the Mayor Dr. Michael Häupl for his patronage. I would 

also like to thank our partners Austrian Federal Economic 

Chamber, Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 

ministries and embassies, region and city representatives, 

companies, media partners as well as our council members 

and the European Brand Institute for the good cooperation 

in terms of iconvienna and the third publication of 

iconannual. 

For the future I wish you successful relations! Use 

this magazine according to our motto “MAKE CONT- 

ACTS TO CONTRACTS“! 

Foto: Katharina Schiffl 

The European Business and Investment Magazine iconannual 3

MONEY BACK* 

WITH EVERY PURCHASE 

Shopping with Lyoness is that simple 

Every time Lyoness Members make a purchase 

at a Loyalty Merchant either locally or online, 

they are credited up to 5% of the purchase price. 

Once €5 have been accumulated (amount varies 

between countries), the funds will be transferred 

to the Member’s private bank account. As well 

as Cashback, Members also receive Shopping 

Points for every purchase made. These can 

be redeemed at any given time in exchange 

for exclusive deals at Loyalty Merchants 

and much more. 

* at Lyoness Loyalty Merchants 

LYONESS.COM 

MORE CUSTOMERS, 

MORE BENEFIT! 

Get your Full-branded Cashback Card 

in your company’s design! 

Lyoness offers its partners in the 

SME sector an efficient and low-cost 

Customer Loyalty Program. Among 

many other things, the Cashback 

Solutions’ marketing tools enable 

SMEs to collate customer data, 

retrieve statistical analyses and 

gain new customers with attractive 

deals. Lyoness Loyalty Merchants 

can choose between three programs 

which are specifically tailored to meet 

the needs of SMEs. 

Find out more at 

cashback-solutions.com

MAKE CONTACTS TO CONTRACTS 

Forewords 

7 

Greetings from international partners 

20 

Central European Initiative 

Embassies of the United States, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, 

China, Bulgaria, Russia, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Guatemala, Nicaragua, 

Venezuela, Panama, El Salvador, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador 

iconvienna & young leaders dialogue 

56 

About iconvienna 

About youLEAD 

International Finance & Projects 

64 

European Strategy for the Danube Region 

Crowdinvesting as an alternative venture financing option 

New Ways of Infrastructure Financing 

ITKAM - Italian Sounding 

Alternative financing for innovative entrepreneurship 

Innovation & Cooperation 

IST Austria – Committed to pursue excellent science 

Innovative Technology – Made in Austria 

76 

Infrastructure & Transport 

86 

OBB−Infrastruktur: Auf dem Weg von der smarten City zur smarten Bahn 

Smart Cities & Regions 

Future cities and global challenges 

Städte als Standorte für Innovative Entrepreneurship 

Vienna - the city for innovative start−ups 

Growing cities flourishing urban regions 

92 

Coverfoto: istockphoto.com 

International Branding 

In Europa liegen noch viele Marken im Verborgenen 

China Council for Brand Development - To be scientific, impartial, 

transparent and admitted 

Sports For Life – Sports For Good! 

Women Leadership Forum 

iconvienna 2015 impressions 

eurobrand forum 

102 

Imprint: Publisher/Proprietor: maX iconvienna GmbH | 1010 Wien | Börsegasse 9 | A-1010 Vienna | Tel +43 1 532 1000 23 | Fax +43 1 532 1000 30 | Email office@icon-vienna.net | www.icon-vienna.net; 

Design & Layout: „Der Herr Bertl“ OG | 1220 Wien | Maria-Tusch-Straße 8/1/14 | office@derherrbertl.at; Print: Print-Sport Handels GmbH & CoKG | Ared Straße 20 | 2544 Leobersdorf | office@print-sport.at; 

Responsible for the content: maX iconvienna GmbH; Disclaimer: The publisher assumes no liability for the accuracy of the contents and the copyright to the photos. Typesetting and printing 

errors reserved. iconannual is the official medium of iconvienna and supports the networking concept of this platform. 


WO 

RLD 

CLASS 

PART 

NERS 

www.advantageaustria.org 

ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA is the official Austrian trade promotion 

organisation of the Republic of Austria. With its more than 110 

offices in over 70 countries, provides a broad range of intelligence 

and business development services for both Austrian companies 

and their international business partners. Our 800 employees 

and 35 consultants around the world can assist you in locating 

Austrian suppliers and business partners. We organize more 

than 1,200 events every year to bring business contacts together. 

Other services provided by ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA offices range 

from introductions to Austrian companies looking for importers, 

distributors or agents to providing in-depth information on Austria 

as a business location and assistance in entering the Austrian 

market.

iconvienna 

Foreword 

Make contacts 

to contracts! 

KR Dr. René Alfons Haiden 

Chairman iconvienna 

ıconvıenna 

ınvestments for europe 

Iconvienna findet heuer zum 12. Mal statt und hat 

sich somit als eine erfolgreiche und hoch geschätzte 

Plattform für Top-Level Business Networking etabliert. 

Auch dieses Jahr werden Top Experten und 

Entscheidungsträger aufeinander treffen und über aktuelle 

Themen und Trends diskutieren. Dies sorgt nicht 

nur für einen wichtigen Erfahrungstausch, sondern 

fördert auch die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Unternehmen 

und Vertretern aus über 50 Ländern. 

Dieses Jahr freue ich mich wieder über die dritte 

Publikation des iconannual – The European Business 

and Investment Magazine. Das Magazin bietet heuer 

interessante Einblicke in den Bereichen Innovative 

Entrepreneurship, Infrastructure Innovations for Sustainable 

Regions and Cities, Alternative Financing, Digital 

Europe und viele mehr. 

Erfreulich ist auch die Weiterführung des Young 

Leaders Dialogue, der High Potentials zusammenbringt 

mit dem Ziel über aktuelle Themen zu diskutieren, die 

dann wiederum Fokus der Konferenz iconvienna sein 

werden. iconvienna hat das Ziel die Schließung neuer 

Geschäftspartnerschaften zu fördern und eine gute Zusammenarbeit 

zwischen internationalen Unternehmen 

zu sichern. 

Ich wünsche allen Partnern und Teilnehmern iconvienna 

viel Erfolg! 

I 

convienna is taking place for the 12th time this year 

and has therefore become a highly-rated platform for 

Top-Level Business Networking. Top experts and decision 

makers meet this year again and discuss current 

topics and trends. Beside the important exchange 

of know-how that iconvienna provides, it also fosters 

cooperation between companies and representatives 

from more than 50 countries. 

I am very glad about the third publication of iconannual 

– The European Business and Investment Magazine. 

This year's issue offers interesting insights in the 

fields of Innovative Entrepreneurship, Infrastructure 

Innovations for Sustainable Regions and Cities, Alternative 

Financing, Digital Europe and many more. 

Also particularly pleasing is the continuation of the 

Young Leaders Dialogue, which gathers High Potentials 

and gives them the opportunity to discuss relevant topics, 

which the conference iconvienna will in turn focus 

on. The aim of iconvienna is to promote the establishment 

of new business partnerships and to ensure an 

easy cooperation between international companies. 

I wish all partners and participants a successful forum! 

Foto: Haiden 


8 iconannual The European Business and Investment Magazine 

Foto: Fotolia

City of Vienna 

Foreword 

Willkommen in Wien! 

Welcome to Vienna! 

Dr. Michael Häupl 

Bürgermeister und Landeshauptmann von Wien 

Mayor and Governor of Vienna 

Bereits zum zwölften Mal findet das 

European Business and Investment 

Forum unter dem Titel iconvienna 

in Wien statt. Mit dem Ziel 

persönliche Kontaktmöglichkeiten zwischen 

Führungskräften, Unternehmern 

und Projektpartnern im Raum CEE zu 

fördern, hat sich die iconvienna schon 

längst zu einer bedeutenden Wirtschaftsund 

Investitionsplattform entwickelt. Sie 

leistet ihren Beitrag zur wirtschaftlichen 

Zusammenarbeit in Europa und ist damit 

gerade in der heutigen Zeit an Relevanz 

schwer zu überbieten. 

Durch die Lage an der ehemaligen 

Grenze zwischen West und Ost war Wien 

schon immer Dreh- und Angelpunkt für 

Austausch, Zukunft und Entwicklung. In 

diesem Sinne kann ich mir keinen geeigneteren 

Veranstaltungsort für einen Kongress 

im Zeichen des wirtschaftlichen 

Dialoges vorstellen, als unsere schöne 

Stadt im Herzen Europas. 

Als Bürgermeister und Vertreter des 

Gastgebers Wien heiße ich alle Teilnehmerinnen 

und Teilnehmer herzlich in 

unserer Stadt willkommen und wünsche 

Ihnen interessante und informative Tage 

in Wien. Ich hoffe, dass Sie im Rahmen 

Ihres Aufenthaltes auch die Möglichkeit 

haben, unsere vielfältige Stadt zu erleben 

und zu genießen. 

Iconvienna – The European Business 

and Investment Forum takes place for 

the twelfth time in Vienna. Aiming to 

promote establishment of contacts 

between executives, entrepreneurs 

and project partners in the CEE region, 

iconvienna has become one of the major 

economic and investment platforms. It 

contributes to the economic cooperation 

in Europe and is therefore nowadays difficult 

to outpace. 

Thanks to its location between the 

East and West, Vienna has always been 

a hub for exchange, future and development. 

Therefore, I cannot think of a better 

and more appropriate venue for an economic 

dialogue congress than our beautiful 

city, situated in the heart of Europe. 

As Mayor and host representative of 

Vienna, I welcome all participants to our 

city and wish interesting and informative 

time in Vienna. I hope that you will have 

the opportunity to enjoy your stay in our 

city, which is full of diversity. 

Foto: Michele Pauty 


We support the City of Vienna in 

reaching its goal of being a Smart City. 

TINA Vienna GmbH 

Smart City Wien Agency 

Energy Center Wien 

A company of Wien Holding 

www.tinavienna.at 

www.smartcity.wien

Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry 

Foreword 

Wien als Zentrum fur 

Innovationen, Start _ ups 

und Entrepreneurship 

DI Walter Ruck 

Präsident der Wirtschaftskammer Wien 

President Vienna Economic Chamber 

Foto: Weinwurm 

Moderne Technik, Vernetzung 

und neue Medien haben im 

letzten Jahrzehnt die Wirtschaft 

in einem nie dagewesenen 

Tempo verändert. Und diese 

Innovationsgeschwindigkeit wird 

auch weiter anhalten. Eines der erfolgreichsten 

europäischen Zentren 

für Innovationen, Start-ups und 

Entrepreneurship ist Wien. Hier hat 

sich in der Vergangenheit eine lebendige 

Szene junger Unternehmen 

mit neuen Ideen entwickelt. Und 

täglich wächst diese Community 

weiter. Wien übernimmt damit auch 

in der New Economy eine bedeutende 

Drehscheibenfunktion, die es 

bereits seit langem mitten im Herz 

Europas lebt. 

Deshalb bildet die iconvienna 

den passenden Rahmen für den 

Austausch unter Entrepreneuren, 

für Diskussionen über die bestmögliche 

Finanzierung junger Ideen und 

natürlich für die Innovations-Förderung 

für Europas Regionen. Dem 

und vielen weiteren Themen werden 

sich Top-Entscheider aus internationalen 

Organisationen Politik, Wirtschaft 

und Gesellschaft gemeinsam 

mit Vertretern der verschiedensten 

Regionen Zentral- und Osteuropas 

widmen. Der Kongress bietet die 

Chance, die Zukunft aktiv zu gestalten. 

Ich wünsche Ihnen spannende 

Vorträge und Gespräche. 


Wien im 

internationalen 

Dialog 

Zusammenarbeit von Wien und Belgrad bei 

der EU-Strategie für den Donauraum 

Wien – Grenzen 

überschreitender 

Dialog, Chancen 

und Projekte 

Mit dem 1. Jänner 2016 hat die Eurocomm-PR, 

ein Unternehmen der Wien 

Holding, die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der 

Stadt Wien in Belgrad, Budapest, Krakau, 

Ljubljana, Prag, Sarajevo, Sofia 

und Zagreb übernommen. Ziel der 

Eurocomm-PR ist es, Wien als Standort 

für Investitionen und regionale Headquarter 

global zu positionieren, die 

Voraussetzungen für eine produktive 

Zusammenarbeit zu schaffen und die 

Chance für gemeinsame erfolgreiche 

Projekte zu eröffnen. 

Die TäTigkeiTen Der eurocomm-Pr sind 

auf die Förderung des Dialogs der Verwaltungen 

sowie auf die positive Darstellung der Wiener 

Stadtverwaltung in den Zielstädten ausgerichtet. 

Dafür werden im Rahmen der Medienarbeit die 

Kommunikationsschwerpunkte der Stadt Wien an 

lokale Medien übermittelt. An den Auslandsstandorten 

werden mehrtägige Wien-Events organisiert, 

um die positive Wahrnehmung der Stadt Wien 

zusätzlich zu stärken. Die Eurocomm-PR stellt 

profunde Informationen zu Politik, Verwaltung 

und Wirtschaft der Zielstädte zur Verfügung, unterstützt 

den Know-how Transfer zwischen Wien 

und den Städten des Auslandskommunikationsnetzwerks 

und betreut PolitikerInnen und FachbeamtInnen 

bei bilateralen Delegationen. 

BereiTs seiT Dem Jahr 1996 unterhält 

Wien ein Netzwerk mit osteuropäischen Hauptstädten. 

Gemeinsame Projekte finden sich in un- 

Prag ist Teil des Auslandskommunikationsnetzwerkes 

der Stadt Wien 

terschiedlichen kommunalen 

Be reichen. Belgrad und Wien 

arbeiten vor allem bei der Stadtplanung 

und dem U-Bahn-Bau 

zusammen. Der Wiener Weg 

beim Tierschutz steht im Fokus 

der Kooperation von Wien und 

Budapest. Zwischen Wien und 

Krakau gibt es bei der städtischen 

Daseinsvorsorge und der 

Verkehrsplanung einen regen 

Austausch. Die Zusammenarbeit 

von Ljubljana und Wien 

besteht in erster Linie in den 

Bereichen EU-Kooperation und 

Stadtplanung. Das Interesse für 

eine smarte Stadtgestaltung verbindet 

Wien und Prag. Sarajevo 

und Wien tauschen ihre Erfahrung 

im Bereich der modernen 

Verwaltung und der Energietechnologien 

aus. Mit Sofia bespricht 

sich Wien vor allem zur 

Abfallwirtschaft und zur Donauraumstrategie. 

Der Erfahrungsaustausch 

zwischen Wien 

und Zagreb konzentriert sich auf 

die städtische Verwaltung. 

Den Zielländern wird vom 

Wiener Institut für Internationale 

Wirtschaftsvergleiche für 

die nächsten Jahre mittelfristig 

ein Wirtschaftswachstum 

von durchschnittlich ca. 3 % 

prognostiziert. Die Stadt Wien 

möchte an diesem Wachstum 

teilhaben und den Städten in 

den CEE- und SEE-Ländern das 

Know-how der Stadtverwaltung 

zur Verfügung stellen sowie Wien 

als idealen Wirtschaftsstandort 

präsentieren, weiterführende 

Informationen gibt es unter: 

www.eurocomm.at

Wien Holding 

Foreword 

Innovative 

Entrepreneurship 

Komm.-Rat Peter Hanke 

Managing Director Wien Holding 

Launching a new business is a huge step 

and requires a lot of dedication and work. 

But it's not just about having an idea, it's 

about being able to realize it. Networking 

offers a great opportunity to get in contact 

with new people who might be able to help. 

Not only financially but also with experience 

and knowledge. For innovative entrepreneurship 

it is essential to understand the market 

environment and the entrepreneurial capabilities 

and culture. For the past twelve years, 

iconvienna has offered assistance to facilitate 

projects between Austrian and international 

companies. Through offering a high-level networking 

platform, it brought together company 

representatives and decision makers enabling 

business and social contacts as well as 

an exchange of experience. By doing so, iconvienna 

also reinforces Vienna's position as a 

desirable business location by strengthening 

its reputation around the world. 

As a municipal company, our main goal is 

making Vienna worth living by implementing 

projects that add value to the economy and 

the quality of life of the population in Vienna. 

Wien Holding with its 75 companies in five 

business sectors – cultural management, real 

estate, logistics, media, environmental management 

– stands for future-oriented, sustainable 

projects. Through one of our companies, 

TINA Vienna, we introduce innovations 

to transform and shape the city in terms of 

Smart City and Energy topics. We aim to be 

the driving force that takes initiative and lays 

the groundwork for others while also making 

sure that development corresponds to urban 

planning and strategic economic goals. Business 

networking platforms such as iconvienna 

are essential for promoting new projects 

and achievements for they allow the transfer 

of knowledge and the exchange of experiences 

between cities. 

Vienna is a strong, internationally attractive 

location. It's central position in the heart 

of Europe, its close economic ties and proximity 

to the growth market in Central and Eastern 

Europe make it an ideal business location 

and a strong competitor among the world's 

cities. To secure this position for the future, 

we will continue to support inconvienna in 

its aim of “making contacts to contracts” and 

thereby enabling the transfer of knowledge 

and innovation. 

Foto: Barbara Nidetzky 



Foto: WKO

Austrian Federal Economic Chamber 

Foreword 

iconvienna − 

Knowledge Transfer 

and International 

Networking at its Best 

Dr. Christoph Leitl 

President Austrian Federal 

Economic Chamber 

Foto: Atelier Doris Kucera 

Few other events can measure up to the 

high level of iconvienna, which has established 

itself over the years as one of 

the key discussion platforms for leading 

decision-makers in business, politics and science. 

Hence, I am proud that the twelfth edition 

of this prestigious forum is once again 

held at the premises of the Austrian Federal 

Economic Chamber. 

Due to its geographic location, Austria – and 

particularly the city of Vienna – has always 

served as the bridge from the West to the East 

and Southeast of Europe. Therefore, it is not 

surprising that iconvienna takes place here, in 

the heart of Europe. Vienna plays an important 

role as a meeting point and hub for companies 

and institutions from all over the region. 

The aim of iconvienna is the effective promotion 

of economic and social integration in 

Europe. In this context, this year's focus on Innovative 

Entrepreneurship covers such important 

issues as financing measures, infrastructure 

development and regional cooperation. 

Moreover, the programme is again enriched by 

the young leaders‘ dialogue, which brings high 

potentials and young entrepreneurs from Central 

and Eastern Europe together on one table. 

iconvienna offers them a unique opportunity 

to discuss recent developments, bring in fresh 

input and develop new ideas. 

Another topic of iconvienna 2016 is innovation 

and digitalization, which I consider to 

be one of the most crucial indicators for determining 

Europe's future competitiveness in the 

world. Information Communication Technology, 

Big Data and innovative apps shape the 

world as we know it today. The facilitation and 

promotion of a "Digital Europe" is vital and an 

absolute necessity in order to develop innovative 

approaches and cross-border solutions. 

Undoubtedly, iconvienna offers up-to-date 

knowledge transfer, high-level presentations 

and top-notch expert discussions. Yet, the particular 

value of this event lies in its attractive 

networking framework. Hardy anywhere else 

can one connect with so many international 

experts and business people, share ideas, 

develop international business relations and 

create cross-border friendships. It truly is the 

ideal platform to "Make Contacts to Contracts". 



Foto: Creative Commons

Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs 

Foreword 

How to successfully 

prepare Europe for 

the 21 st century 

Sebastian Kurz 

Federal Minister for Europe, 

Integration and Foreign Affairs 

Foto: Felicitas Matern/feelimage.at 

Numerous challenges are clear 

and present at a global scale. 

Digitalisation for example will 

fundamentally change the work 

environment and innovation. Climate 

change needs urgent and sustainable 

answers by the entire international 

community. 

Austrian and European companies 

will have to live up to these and other 

challenges in order to stay competitive 

at a global level. These challenges 

should be seen as a chance to shape 

future innovations and market scale 

solutions. 

A strong and competitive Austria 

needs effective networks with competitive 

and innovative regions around 

the world. With this in mind the Federal 

Ministry of Europe, Integration and 

Foreign Affairs contributes in supporting 

Austria as an attractive business 

location. Among others it recently 

established a new department for 

“Business Service” to assist Austrian 

companies abroad and realigned its 

network of diplomatic representations 

by opening new embassies in economically 

promising locations such as Qatar, 

Singapour, Colombia or the Silicon 

Valley. It also launched the Austrian 

Leadership Programs, a visitors program 

which aims at building a global 

network of decision makers having 

first-hand experience of Austria's political 

and economic environment. 

iconvienna 2016 is manifestly part 

of such future-oriented thinking by 

connecting regions, companies and 

ideas in order to be better prepared to 

face future challenges. I therefor warmly 

congratulate the organisers of the 

12. European Business and investment 

forum for their active engagement and 

wish you all the best for the event. 


European Commission 

Transport 

and Mobility 

across and in the Regions of Europe 

Since 2014, the EU has a new transport infrastructure 

policy that connects the continent between 

East and West, North and South. This policy aims 

to close the gaps between Member States' transport 

networks and to remove the bottlenecks that still 

hamper the smooth functioning of the internal market, 

in order to boost the European economy and create new 

jobs. It promotes and strengthens seamless transport 

chains for passenger and freight, while keeping up with 

the latest technological trends. 

In 2014–2020, EU investments will focus on the Trans- 

European Transport Network (TEN-T), especially along 

its nine core corridors of high European added value. 

Two sets of EU funding instruments make financial 

support available to projects implementing the TEN-T: 

the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), with a budget of 

24 billion euro, and Regional Policy funds, i.e. the Cohesion 

Fund and the European Regional Development 

Fund (ERDF), with a total envelope of 70 billion euro to 

be invested throughout 2014–2020. 

I say it often, better connectivity is crucial to Europe's 

economic competitiveness. Convenient road and rail connections, 

comfortable and environment-friendly public 

transport systems; these infrastructures have a great impact 

on the attractiveness of a territory for businesses and 

tourism, on the competitiveness of the local and national 

economy and on the quality of the people's everyday life. 

In 2014–2020, Regional Policy will not only improve 

connectivity, but invest in the transport system of tomorrow, 

making it greener, cleaner and smarter. Out of 

the 70 billion euro envelope, almost 40 billion will be 

solely dedicated to low-carbon transport (rail, seaports, 

inland waterways) and sustainable urban mobility. 

Regional Policy will therefore support enhanced multimodality 

and innovative technology to reduce road 

congestion, cut greenhouse gas emissions gases and boost 

In the next decade, Regional 

Policy will be a key enabler of a 

smart, modern transport system 

contributing to address the challenges 

of the EU real economy. 

transport safety and security. It will promote the shift 

towards more sustainable transport modes such as railways, 

public transport, cycling and walking in urban areas. 

And it will facilitate the use of intelligent transport 

systems and infrastructure using alternative fuels. 

70% of the European population now lives in urban 

areas, and cities are hubs of growth and innovation but 

also homes to many challenges, not least poor air quality, 

congestion, noise or roads accidents. This is why in- 

18 iconannual The European Business and Investment Magazine

Foreword 

Foto: istockphoto.com 

Corina Cretu 

European Commissioner 

for Regional Policy 

creasing visibility and importance is given now to the 

urban dimension of EU transport policy. 

Against this background, the Commission presented 

in December 2013 an Urban Mobility Package, 

which reinforced European action on urban mobility, 

called on local authorities to develop and implement 

Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans and invited Member 

States to provide national policy frameworks that 

would support local efforts for sustainable urban mobility 

more effectively. 

Sustainable transport mobility will also be a priority 

under the upcoming EU Urban Agenda, which we are 

now consolidating in the context of the Dutch presidency 

Foto: European Commission 

of the Council. With stronger stakeholder involvement 

in the decision-making process on EU policies with an 

urban impact, with better benchmarking and exchanges 

of best practices and with further synergies between EU 

policies and funding instruments, we will make sure to 

maximise the impact of EU investments in urban transport 

systems. 

To this end, it is crucial to make full use of the opportunities 

offered by the new Regional Policy framework 

for 2014–2020 and its enlarged scope for the use 

of financial instruments, in order to lever more private 

financing for projects. 

In addition, European Commission Vice-President 

Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment 

and Competitiveness, and I recently issued guidelines 

on how to best combine Regional Policy funds with the 

European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the 

heart of President Juncker's Investment Plan, in order to 

attract more private capitals and allow quality projects 

to quickly get off the ground. 

This is particularly relevant in the fields of transport 

projects, which are often ambitious, forward-looking 

projects in need of both EU investments and private capitals 

to see the light of day. 

In the next decade, Regional Policy will be a key enabler 

of a smart, modern transport system contributing to 

address the challenges of the EU real economy. 



CEI 

Immediately after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, Italy, 

Austria, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia established – 

as it is known today – the Central European Initiative 

(CEI). Since its inception, the CEI has taken root, grown 

and finally blossomed into the largest and oldest regional 

intergovernmental forum, committed to supporting European 

integration. Currently counting eighteen Member 

States 1 , the CEI has become a recognised promoter of EU/ 

non-EU-country partnership and regional cooperation. 

Moreover, its unique geographical position makes the CEI 

the only regional international organisation connecting 

the Baltic, the Danube, the Adriatic-Ionian, the Black Sea 

and the Alpine regions. It is the only organisation providing 

a peer-to-peer environment for bridging experience 

and synergising the new added values of the macro-regional 

approach to the complexity of transnational governance 

and programming. 

The CEI strategic objectives, outlined in the CEI Plan of 

Action, are focusing on supporting its Member States on 

their path towards European integration; promoting the 

alignment of the CEI Member States to EU standards; implementing 

small and medium-sized projects and converting 

constructive ideas into innovative results. In order to 

offer a solid contribution to European integration the CEI 

combines political dialogue (multilateral diplomacy) and 

project management. Through its project-oriented working 

method, the CEI is also a flexible basis for regional cooperation 

of its Western Balkan countries and the three Eastern 

Partners (Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine). The CEI is 

paying special attention to its non-EU Member States' need 

for capacity building through know-how transfer and 

exchange of experience with its EU countries, thus also 

providing sound evidence of the permanent validity of its 

A solid 

contribution 

to European 

integration 

mission in these difficult times of political turbulence and 

economic crisis. 

In order to meet the strategic objectives for the benefit of 

its Member States, the CEI makes use of a variety of Funds 

and Instruments for cooperation: 

Our 20-plus-year partnership with the European Bank 

for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a real 

success-story in this regard, significantly contributing to 

strengthening CEI's project-oriented dimension. The CEI 

Fund at the EBRD, towards which the Italian Government 

has solely made a total contribution of €41.5 million, mainly 

provides grant-type assistance for specific components 

of Technical Cooperation (TC) projects. Since its inception, 

the Fund has provided more than €24 million for funding 

144 TC assignments, mobilising €4.8 billion of international 

investments in the countries of operations. For one euro 

spent on CEI Technical Cooperation, €215 had been invested 

by the EBRD and other International Financial Insitutions. 

The Fund's main beneficiaries are the non-EU CEI 

Member States. 

Since 2004, the CEI Fund at the EBRD has also contributed 

a total of more than € 2.2 million to the Know-How 

Exchange Programme (KEP) supporting 80 projects. As of 

2008, the KEP has been also financed by Austria through an 

1 CEI Member States and accession date: Albania (1996), Austria (1989), Belarus (1996), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992), Bulgaria (1996), Croatia (1992), Czech Republic (1993), Hungary (1989), Italy (1989), 

Macedonia (1993), Moldova (1996), Montenegro (2006), Poland (1991), Romania (1996), Serbia (2000), Slovakia (1993), Slovenia (1992), Ukraine (1996) 


Greetings 

Botschafterin Dr. Margot Klestil-Löffler 

Alternate Secretary General 


Foto: Vojtech Vlk 

agreement with the Austrian Development Agency (ADA): 

it has so far committed around € 0.9 million for 31 projects. 

Poland had also contributed with € 50.000 to co-financed 

projects. The Programme, promoting the alignment of CEI 

Member States to EU standards, provides grants for projects 

related to capacity building and transfer of good practices 

and contributes to the economic and social advancement 

of the non-EU CEI countries. It also supports the recent EU 

Members in their transformation from recipients to donors 

of development assistance and promotes principles of foreign 

development aid as well as international collaboration 

among institutions in CEI countries. 

The CEI Cooperation Fund – financed by annual 

contributions from all Member States – supports smallsized 

projects, such as seminars, workshops, conferences, 

training courses, aimed at fostering mobility and people-to-people 

contacts in the CEI region. Through these 

Cooperation Activities, the intra-CEI mobility rate has 

grown to an average of 5,000 people every year. Since its 

inception in 2002, 947 activities have been co-financed 

with more than € 8.7 million. 

To achieve the objectives outlined in its multi-annual 

Plan of Action, the CEI is also promoting result-oriented 

projects by participating in EU-funded programmes. We 

are proud of our records: 29 EU-funded projects, where the 

CEI operates both as Lead Partner and as a reliable, effective 

partner in key sectors of transnational cooperation, 

e.g. transport, science and innovation, renewable energy, 

cultural heritage, capacity building. Its long-standing activity 

in the promotion of regional cooperation and well-established 

networks in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern 

Europe represent an added value for the construction of 

transnational, cross-border and interregional partnerships 

and for the elaboration of concepts and constructive ideas 

to be translated into innovative EU project applications. 

This operational participation in the implementation of 

the EU policies is also the mainstream of our concrete ties 

with the European Commission as mandated by our Foreign 

Ministers. 

This CEI expertise in the implementation of transnational 

projects is also very important in view of pursuing 

the goals of the EU macro-regional strategies and of the 

Eastern Partnership, where most of our countries are included. 

All macro-regional strategies have a role to play 

for the benefit of the CEI non-EU Member States. Bringing 

them closer to the European Union in a very consistent 

way to reach the strategic goal driving our activity. 

In a nutshell: the CEI is a well-functioning intergovernmental 

machinery with strong operational character, 

including an Executive Secretariat in Trieste, and project-oriented 

approach. Its manifold activities in various 

areas and initiatives to create a good business environment 

as well as its investment in a knowledge-based 

economy have served and are going to continue serving 

to increase the economic, social and territorial cohesion 

within the regional scope. The CEI also remains committed 

to supporting good-neighbourly relations, stability 

and prosperity of the countries in the region. The final 

scope of the CEI is to assist those countries remaining 

outside of the EU on their path towards further European 

integration. In this context, the CEI activities are devised 

in particular to assist in the preparations for EU membership 

of candidate countries and assure an active participation 

of its Eastern Member States. 



Foto: istockphoto.com

United States of America 

Greetings 

Dear readers! 

H. E. Alexa Wesner 

U.S. Ambassador to Austria 

Congratulations to iconvienna on its twelfth year 

as an outstanding platform for investment, entrepreneurship, 

and economic cooperation. For investors, 

policy makers and entrepreneurs all over 

the world, our connections, feedback, and networks— 

found at iconvienna—are vital to our shared economic 

future. As a vast domestic market with a transparent legal 

system, America's most innovative companies have 

embraced our connected future. The U.S. Embassy in 

Austria is proud to be a partner in this year's program, 

proving again that America is open for business. 

Everywhere I go across Austria and around the world, 

I meet people, especially young people, who are ready to 

start something of their own. Their passion for innovation 

makes the world a better place, creating new jobs that 

bring new wealth, products, and ways to deliver basic services. 

In doing so, they transform or create entirely new 

industries that drive the global economy and empower 

innovation and invention. When successful, these visionaries 

turn their way of seeing the world into a safer, 

healthier, and more enjoyable reality for everyone. 

Austria is filled with successful innovators and entrepreneurs. 

Vienna is Europe's most important hub 

for commerce, entrepreneurship, and research. Business 

leaders in Austria have long recognized that they 

can profit from the dynamic, entrepreneurial, business-friendly 

environment we have in the United States. 

Accessing the U.S. market strengthens their positions 

at home, boosting domestic activities through growth 

and innovation on both sides of the Atlantic. Time and 

again, communities that welcome foreign investors see 

job growth and increased economic activity, bringing 

new customers and fueling even greater investment. 

It is in that spirit that I invite you to join us at the 

2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, 

D.C. June 19–21. Established by President Obama in 

2011, SelectUSA (selectusa.commerce.gov) is a unique 

program to promote and facilitate investment in the U.S. 

More than 2,600 people—including 1,300 companies 

from more than 70 countries, over 500 U.S. economic 

development officials, and representatives from all 50 

states—met last year to exchange ideas with global partners. 

Join us this summer for the next SelectUSA, where 

20 different federal agencies and hundreds of U.S. economic 

development officials can tell you how your business 

will profit from the uniquely open and lucrative 

business environment we have in America. 

The global economy is increasingly interconnected, 

and events such as iconvienna and SelectUSA are vital 

to building the networks that drive the economy and 

shape our future. I wish you all a successful conference 

here in Vienna. On behalf of the people of the United 

States, I look forward to working with all of you to build 

a better future, filled with new opportunities for economic 

cooperation. 

Foto: U.S. Embassy 




Romania 

Greetings 

Werte Leserinnen 

und Leser! 

H. E. Bogdan Mazuru 

Ambassador of Romania to Austria 

Iconvienna hatte eine bemerkenswerte Initiative, 

als sie die Thematik des Business und 

Innovation Forums 2016 festgelegt hat: Innovation 

und ihre Finanzierung. Die Vorträge 

und Gespräche werden dazu beitragen, dass Innovation 

vorangetrieben werden kann und ihre 

Ergebnisse in der Praxis umgesetzt werden. 

Auf europäischer Ebene, wünscht sich 

Rumänien neue Maßnahmen und Strategien 

die effizienter die Innovation fördern sollen, 

um sicher zu stellen, dass die EU nachhaltig 

auf der Weltbühne wettbewerbsfähig bleibt. 

Intern, wurde ein Konzept erstellt um Innovation 

zu unterstützen: 2014 wurde die nationale 

Strategie für Forschung, Entwicklung 

und Innovation (2014 – 2020) verabschiedet, 

Dokument dass Forschung und Innovation als 

strategische Treibkraft für die Steigerung der 

Wettbewerbsfähigkeit festlegt und den Anschluss 

an die neuen europäischen Prioritäten 

in Wissenschaft und Technologie verfolgt. Diese 

Strategie soll maßgeblich zur wirtschaftlichen 

Entwicklung beitragen. 

Rumänien strebt das Ziel an 2% des BIP 

für Forschung und Innovation zuzuteilen (1% 

aus der öffentliche Hand und 1% aus privaten 

Quellen). Innovation wird auch durch Förderungsprogramme 

für Betriebe unterstützt, 

aber auch durch steuerliche Vorteile für die 

IT-Branche. Die Letzte hat im Jahr 2014 mit 

6% ein Rekordanteil an den BIP erworben, davon 

2,5% nur aus Softwareentwicklung und 

Dienstleistungen. Um die privaten Investitionen 

in Entwicklung zu fördern, wurde 2015 

ein Gesetz für die Stimulation individueller 

Unternehmer, die sogenannte „Business Angels“, 

verabschiedet. 

Rumänien und Österreich sind durch traditionsreiche 

wirtschaftliche Beziehungen 

verbunden. Österreich ist zurzeit der zweitgrößte 

Investor in Rumänien, mit Direktinvestitionen 

von 4,8 Milliarden Euro und mehr als 

7.000 Unternehmen mit mehrheitlicher österreichischer 

Beteiligung, die am meisten in der 

Industrie, Banken und Versicherungen, Energie, 

Bauindustrie und Landwirtschaft tätig 

sind. Wir möchten die guten wirtschaftlichen 

Beziehungen ausweiten und dieses Ziel kann 

auch durch Förderung der Forschung und der 

Innovation, sowie durch Know-how-Transfer 

erreicht werden. 

Foto: Romanian Embassy 



Foto: Hansjörg Schwab

Slovakia 

Greetings 

Dear readers! 

H. E. Juraj Macháč 

Ambassador of the Republic of Slovakia to Austria 

It's an honor to address you again in iconannual magazine. 

Since the beginning of my diplomatic mission 

in the position of Ambassador of the Slovak Republic 

in Austria in 2012, iconvienna has been in my calendar 

every year. Particularly significant was the 2014 

East – West Summit on Innovation and Smart Cities 

and Slovakia had the honor to be Guest Country. I am 

particularly pleased that so many Slovak leaders, government 

representatives, local officials, academics and 

companies from Slovakia participated in iconvienna 

2014. 

The motto of the event is "Make Contacts to Contracts", 

which is characteristic of today's world – for example 

in the case of Smart Cities, I would like to point 

out the efforts to harness the potential closeness of the 

two Capital cities of Austria and Slovakia, where good 

contacts already exist – as we are only 60 kilometers 

apart – but need to be translated into business contracts. 

The main topic of this year's European Business 

and Investment Forum 2016 iconvienna is innovation. 

Slovakia has a lot to offer, especially in the automotive 

industry. In 2015, we reached the magic limit of 1 

million cars produced, thus confirming our leadership 

in the world in number of cars produced per capita. 

Innovation unites us. Out of many examples, let me 

mention just three: the flying car Aeromobil, invented 

and designed by Slovak Štefan Klein, which was presented 

at the Pioneers Festival 2015 in Vienna, Slovak 

e-mobility company Greenway, where electric vehicles 

and charging stations can be found in Austria and the 

sports arena, an extraordinary Slovak investment and 

ice hockey complex with ice rink with the most modern, 

environmentally friendly technologies. 

Whether we take innovation as a complex assembly 

of ingenuity from implementation, inventing new 

products, services, processes and technologies to putting 

them into practice, it is always a creative process 

that combines existing things in new way in order to 

offer something unique to the market. iconvienna itself 

has the characteristics of being unique. Vienna is the 

intersection of business activities in Eastern and Western 

Europe, the established headquarters of many international 

companies and international organizations 

and it is therefore only logical that representatives from 

the world of business, energy, politics and diplomacy 

meet again in the Austrian capital. I wish iconvienna 

2016 successful course and to participants interesting 

contributions and fruitful discussions. Let this year's 

European Business and Investment Forum be at least 

as successful as before! 

Foto: Slovakian Embassy 



Foto: Hansjörg Schwab

Czech Republic 

Greetings 

Verehrte Leserinnen 

und Leser! 

H. E. Jan Sechter 

Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Austria 

G 

erne nütze ich hiermit die Gelegenheit, 

anlässlich des 12. Jahrgangs des Europäischen 

Business & Investment Forums 

iconvienna 2016 Grußworte an Sie zu richten. 

Es ist sehr erfreulich, dass diese alljährlich 

stattfindende Veranstaltung in einer Zeit, die von 

Unsicherheit und Turbulenzen geprägt ist, in geschäftlicher 

wie gesellschaftlicher Hinsicht in 

Wien einen Fixpunkt bildet. 

iconvienna ist das Synonym einer branchenübergreifenden 

Netzwerkveranstaltung, die 

internationale Unternehmen, Investoren und 

Entscheider mit Schwerpunktinteressen in Mittel- 

und Osteuropa zusammenbringt. Firmen begrüßen 

die Möglichkeit, auf diese Weise wertvolle 

Kontakte zu knüpfen, sich neue Anregungen und 

Ideen zu holen und nicht zuletzt Geschäfte abzuschließen. 

iconvienna bietet auch in diesem Jahr seinen 

Besuchern eine Diskussionsplattform zu topaktuellen 

Themen, bestimmenden Trends und Akzenten 

in Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft, Technologien 

und daraus resultierenden Chancen. Der Wandel 

und die Erneuerung vieler herkömmlicher 

Geschäftsmodelle finden in einer umfassenden 

Digitalisierung Ausdruck, die erhöhte Anforderungen 

stellt, aber auch große Chancen eröffnet. 

Eine lebendige, dynamische Start-Up-Szene stellt 

eine vielversprechende Gemeinsamkeit unter anderem 

zwischen tschechischen und österreichischen 

Zentren dar. Neue Fragen wie Big Data, Internet 

der Dinge, Datensicherheit, Crowdfunding 

oder eine bislang unbekannte Kultur des Teilens 

verlangen neue Antworten, während andererseits 

die Notwendigkeit intelligenter Mobilität 

und Investitionen in die Energiesicherheit die 

Infrastruktur vor Herausforderungen stellen. Vor 

diesem Hintergrund ist es ausdrücklich zu begrüßen, 

dass das diesjährige Forum iconvienna 2016 

Innovation als unbestrittenen Dreh- und Angelpunkt 

der Entwicklung in den Mittelpunkt stellt. 

Das Forum iconvienna leistet über den geschäftlichen 

Nutzen hinaus einen namhaften 

Beitrag zur sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Integration 

in unserer Region sowie in Südosteuropa. 

Ich bin überzeugt, dass das diesjährige Forum die 

Erwartungen der Besucher erneut vollauf erfüllen 

wird und dass aus ihm vielfältige Synergieeffekte 

entstehen. 

Foto: Embassy of the Czech Republic 




China 

Greetings 

Osterreich spielt eine wichtige 

Rolle in der Zusammenarbeit 

zwischen China und Europa 

M 

it großer Freude habe ich zur Kenntnis genommen, 

dass iconvienna – The 12 th European Business 

and Investment Forum – sich dem Motto „Innovation“ 

widmet, das mit den Leitgedanken des 

chinesischen Entwicklungskonzeptes „Innovation, Koordination, 

Grün, Offenheit und Teilhabe“ im Einklang 

steht. Der Veranstalter des Forums legt großen Wert auf 

Chinas wachsende Einflüsse, lädt dieses Jahr zum ersten 

Mal chinesische Unternehmen zur Teilnahme ein und 

wird 2017 China als Hauptgastland begrüßen. 

China misst den Wirtschafts- und Handelsbeziehungen 

mit Europa einen hohen Stellenwert bei. Österreich 

liegt am Schnittpunkt zwischen Ost- und Westeuropa, 

verfügt über einzigartige Standortvorteile und ist wirtschaftlich 

eng mit dem Rest Europas verflochten. Deswegen 

könnte Österreich eine wichtigere Rolle in der 

Zusammenarbeit zwischen China und Europa spielen. 

Zurzeit vertieft sich das politische Vertrauen zwischen 

China und Österreich ständig und die substanzorientierte 

Zusammenarbeit zwischen beiden Seiten nimmt 

einen Aufschwung. Während des China-Besuchs des 

Bundespräsidenten Dr. Fischer im Jahr 2015 haben 

Führungspersönlichkeiten beider Länder einen breiten 

Konsens zur Erweiterung der Wirtschafts- und Handelszusammenarbeit 

erreicht. Österreich ist eines der Gründungsmitglieder 

von der Asiatischen Infrastrukturinvestmentbank 

(AIIB) und hat als Beobachter an dem 4. 

Gipfeltreffen zwischen China sowie zentralund osteuropäischen 

Staaten teilgenommen. Dadurch entstehen 

neue Chancen für die Erweiterung der bilateralen Zusammenarbeitsbereiche. 

Die Filiale von Bank of China 

in Wien wurde frisch getauft. Beide Länder nehmen momentan 

das 45. Jubiläum der Aufnahme ihrer diplomatischen 

Beziehungen in diesem Jahr zum Anlass, um die 

Zusammenarbeit zukunftsorientiert zu gestalten. 

Ich hoffe aufrichtig, dass das Forum gebündelte Vorteile 

von Informationen, Ressourcen und Netzwerkbau 

voll zur Geltung bringen wird, um den Austausch und 

die Zusammenarbeit zwischen China und Europa sowie 

zwischen China und Österreich stärker voranzutreiben. 

Ich begrüße es auch, dass sich österreichische Unternehmen 

aktiv an Projekten im Rahmen der „One Belt, 

One Road“-Initiative beteiligen und mit chinesischen 

Partnern über industrielle Zusammenarbeit auf dem internationalen 

Markt diskutieren. 

Zum Schluss wünsche ich iconvienna, dem 12. 

European Business and Investment Forum viel Erfolg 

im Voraus. 

Foto: Embassy of the People's Republic of China 




Bulgaria 

Greetings 

Liebe Leserinnen 

und Leser! 

H. E. Mrs. Elena Shekerletova 

Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Austria 

S 

eit mehr als 10 Jahren ist das European Business 

and Investment Forum – iconvienna eine etablierte 

und erfolgreiche Dialogplattform zwischen 

Vertretern der Wirtschaft, der Politik und des öffentlichen 

Lebens aus der ganzen Welt. Im Rahmen des 

Netzwerks und der Veranstaltungen von iconvienna 

werden Projekte präsentiert, gemeinsame Probleme 

identifiziert und thematisiert, innovative Gedanken 

ausgetauscht, Kontakte geknüpft. In diesem Jahr bildet 

das Thema Smart Cities ein spezieller Schwerpunkt für 

iconvienna. 

Ein Smart-City-Konzept beinhaltet umfassendes 

know-how, zukunftsorientierte Visionen und mutige 

Entscheidungen auf vielen Gebieten – Energie, Transport, 

Informationstechnologien und Telekommunikation, 

Umsetzung eines intelligenten Verkehrssystems, 

höheres Niveau der Ressourceneffizienz in den Städten. 

Die strategisch und langfristig geplanten und energieeffizienten 

Maßnahmen führen zu einem Wirtschaftswachstum 

und zu einer merkbaren Verbesserung in 

allen wichtigen Bereichen wie Lebensqualität, Wohlstand, 

Beschäftigung. 

Die Energieeffizienz ist Schlüsselpriorität der Regierung 

in Bulgarien. Man legt großen Wert darauf, die 

Konkurrenzfähigkeit der bulgarischen Wirtschaft zu 

steigern und die Lebensqualität in den Städten zu verbessern 

– durch niedrige Heizkosten, sicherere Wohnungen 

und modernes und angenehmes Stadtambiente. 

Die Umsetzung läuft durch ein nationales Programm 

für Energieeffizienz, das die Sanierung von über 1,3 

Mio. Wohnungen für circa 3 Mio. Bulgarische Bürger- 

Innen mit öffentlichen Mitteln ermöglicht. Burgas und 

Plovdiv sind zwei bulgarische Städte mit langfristiger 

Smart City Perspektive. Burgas zählt zu den wichtigsten 

Wirtschafts- und Industriestandorte in unserem 

Land und ist die erste Stadt, die sich an der Green Digital 

Charter angeschlossen hat. In der Stadt werden 

fünf Projekte zur Steigerung der Energieeffizienz und 

zur Verringerung der Treibhausgasemissionen um 30% 

in den nächsten 10 Jahren umgesetzt. Auch Plovdiv 

möchte sich als Smart City entwickeln. In Umsetzung 

ist ein Projekt zur Modernisierung des Stadttransports 

im Wert über 44 Mio. Leva. Projektziel ist eine erhöhte 

Verkehrssicherheit. Mit Hilfe neuer Technologien im 

Bereich der Sensorik kann das Verkehrsgeschehen an 

den Kreuzungen erfasst, gesteuert und kommuniziert 

werden. In der Hauptstadt Sofia sind in Umsetzung 

zwei Projekte „Sofia – eine intelligente Stadt” und „Innovationen 

in der Kulturwirtschaft”. 

Die genannten Projekte sind Bulgariens Beitrag zum 

Thema Smart Cities. iconvienna wird ohne Zweifel offene 

Diskussionen, Erfahrungsaustausch und persönliche 

Kontakte zu dem Thema fördern und so für die 

Entwicklung weiterer innovativen Ideen und Projekte 

beitragen. 

Foto: Romanian Embassy 




Russian Federation 

Greetings 

Liebe Leserinnen 

und Leser! 

H. E. Dmitry Lyubinskiy 

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Austria 

Das jährliche European Business und Investment 

Forum iconvienna, das heuer 

schon zum 12. Mal stattfindet, ist bereits 

aus dem Leben Wiens als anerkannte 

Kontaktplatform zwischen Vertretern 

der Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft, Politik und 

des öffentlichen Lebens aus Ost- und Westeuropa 

nicht wegzudenken. Es ist dem Forum 

hervorragend gelungen, die vorteilhafte Lage 

und Rolle der österreichischen Hauptstadt als 

Drehscheibe zwischen Ost und West zu nutzen, 

dabei aber auch selbst zu einem wichtigen 

Mechanismus des Erfahrungs- und Meinungsaustausches 

zu werden und einen bedeutenden 

Beitrag zur tiefen und vielseitigen Brückenbauarbeit 

zu leisten. 

In Zeiten des ständigen Wandels und Fortschritts 

sind die vom diesjährigen iconvienna 

angesprochenen Themen wie Innovatives Unternehmertum, 

Kommunikationstechnologien, 

Transport und Mobilität, Datensicherheit u.a. 

von besonderem Interesse und versprechen 

wieder angeregte und interessante Diskussionen. 

Auch Russland ist regelmäßig aktiver Teilnehmer 

der iconvienna. Neben der zentralen 

Veranstaltung von 2008, bei dem Russland als 

Gastland präsentiert wurde, nehmen regelmäßig 

russische Regionen wie Moskau, Nowgorod 

oder Iwanowo als „Guest Regions“ am 

Event teil. Dieser regionale Aspekt ist meiner 

Meinung nach von besonderer Wichtigkeit, da 

er ein immer breiteres Teilnehmerfeld ermöglicht 

und somit das bestehende Netzwerk an 

Kontakten ausweitet. 

Ich wünsche dem ganzen Team von iconvienna 

viel Glück bei der Vorbereitung und 

Durchführung dieses Events und Ihnen, liebe 

LeserInnen, viel Vergnügen mit der vorliegenden 

Ausgabe! 

Foto: Richard Pobaschnig 



Fotos: Embassy of the Dominian Republic

Dominican Republic 

Greetings 

Strengthening 

Cooperation with Latin America 

and the Caribbean 

H. E. Ramón Quiñones 

Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Austria, and Bulgaria. 

Dean of the Diplomatic Corps for Latin America and Caribbean 

As Dean of the Diplomatic Corps for Latin America 

and the Caribbean and Ambassador of the 

Dominican Republic in Austria, I would like 

first of all to thank iconvienna and its President 

Dr. Gerhard Hrebicek for the opportunity to participate 

again in this important business event, which has allowed 

for the establishment of new contacts and the exchange 

of knowledge, ideas, experiences, and business 

opportunities for more than a decade. 

Conscience of its importance, the Embassy of the 

Dominican Republic has supported iconvienna since 

its very inception, actively participating in its Forums, 

and facilitating contacts with our producers of rum, tobacco 

and tourist services. In 2015, we expanded the 

long-standing and fruitful collaboration between iconvienna 

and the Dominican Republic with the active participation 

of other Latin American countries, strengthening 

economic and commercial relations between our 

two regions in multiple areas. 

This year we would like to bring our collaboration 

to a new level by institutionalizing the productive relations 

between iconvienna and the countries in our 

region as part of an increasingly dynamic and constructive 

partnership. Situated in the heart of Europe, 

iconvienna constitutes an excellent forum for fostering 

business relations between the 28 member countries 

of the European Union (EU) and the 33 Member States 

of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean 

States (CELAC) to the benefit of both regions. As is well 

known, the EU is the second-largest trading partner of 

Latin American and Caribbean, a region that offers great 

opportunities for foreign investment and commercial 

exchanges. 

Opportunities particularly abound in the Dominican 

Republic, which despite the economic and financial 

crises is enjoying one of the highest growth rates in the 

world, underpinned by a favorable and stable business 

and investment climate, a competent labor force, and a 

vibrant banking sector. Strategically located in the heart 

of the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic has become 

an important commercial center between Europe, North 

America and the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, 

supported by a solid infrastructure. These and other 

factors have allowed the Dominican Republic to maintain 

a 7% growth rate for the second year in a row in 2015. 

The country's favorable climate, stunning beaches, and 

friendly people have also made the Dominican Republic 

the most popular tourist destination of the Caribbean, 

with 5.6 million tourist arrivals in the year 2015. 

On behalf of the Diplomatic Corps for Latin America 

and the Caribbean and the Embassy of the Dominican 

Republic in Vienna, I would like to again congratulate Dr. 

Gerhard Hrebicek and his team for turning icon vienna 

into a big success, which will be further strengthened 

by an intensive collaboration between business 

partners of our regions in the future. 

Foto: Embassy of the Dominian Republic 




Cuba 

Greetings 

Cuba: Opportunities for 

trade and investment 

H. E. Juan Antonio Fernández Palacios 

Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in Austria and Permanent 

Representative to the United Nations Office at Vienna and the 

International Organizations based in Austria. 

I 

highly appreciate and I would also like to 

thank you most sincerely for the invitation 

to participate in iconvienna. Cuba, a small 

country, on which more than half a century 

economic blockade weighs, advances 

in updating its economic model, focused on 

preserving and extending the social achievements, 

raising economic efficiency and 

achieving the sustainable and prosperous socialism 

we aspire. 

In the past 25 years, Cuba has transformed 

the structure of its economy so that 

services now generate more than 60% of export 

earnings. 

In the area of international economic relations, 

Cuba maintains trade with over 75 

countries and numerous companies from 

all continents which are established in the 

country. Diversification is a priority of economic 

and trade links. 

Foreign investment is a key to achieving 

higher growth rates in line with our plans 

for development. Law No. 118 of the Foreign 

Investment guarantees and incentives to foreign 

capital. 12 sectors of the national economy 

have been prioritized and 326 projects are 

identified which are ready for the participation 

of foreign investors. 

Development of energy sources, especially 

renewable ones, is one of the strategic sectors; 

given the priority we assign to the change of 

the country's energy matrix. 

Electronics, biotechnology, pharmaceutical 

and food industry, agriculture, sugar, iron 

and steel, light, chemical industries are included 

among the priority sectors as well as 

the tourism sector which is exhibiting a more 

dynamic growth. 

The creation of the Mariel Special Development 

Zone, the first of its kind in the country, 

introduces additional incentives to invest 

in Cuba. The area has very favorable logistical 

location and conditions. The area offers 

a special regulatory framework and fiscal attractive 

stand. 

The timing is particularly opportune to 

take advantage of all these possibilities and 

opportunities. In this regard, consider Cuba 

as a place to invest and make business. 

Foto: Cuban Embassy 




Guatemala 

Greetings 

Guatemala: 

Tourism destination and 

commercial promotion 

Foto: Embassy of Guatemala 

H. E. Antonio Roberto Castellanos López 

Ambassador of the Republic of Guatemala to Austria, 

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary 

T 

his year, once again, it is an honor for me, as 

Ambassador of Guatemala to participate in 

iconvienna 2016, the European Business and 

Investment Forum. 

In this context, I would like to highlight Guatemala's 

tourism industry and the opportunities it offers as an 

investment centre. Indeed, it is a first rate destination for 

European travelers thanks to a combination of natural 

beauty, a tradition of hospitality and an excellent selection 

of hotels – most international chains are present in 

our country. A good communications network with motorways 

crisscrossing the Nation make it possible both 

for sports lovers and those seeking relaxation to spend 

time in Lake Atitlán and within a few hours reach the 

beautiful beaches that may be found both on the Pacific 

and the Caribbean coastline. 

Equally, Guatemala is a land steeped in history, 

boasting both well pen founded in the XVI century and 

declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO is a beautiful 

example of European civil and religious architecture together 

with indigenous elements within an active urban 

setting. It is one of the best preserved colonial cities in 

the Western Hemisphere. 

Guatemala is the largest economic market in Central 

America with a GDP worth US $ 50.3 billion in 2015, 

representing 27.8% of the region's total. The country's 

economic growth continues unabated based on a state 

policy aiming to promote development, an approach 

that has fostered the joint endeavors of public and private 

sectors. In so doing it has facilitated an economic 

access to key global markets. The latest studies on investment 

banking highlight Guatemala's great economic 

stability, particularly in the last twenty years. 

Also Guatemala enjoys a very solid financial system 

with excellent reserve levels and the lowest foreign debt 

in the region. Its financial system is integrated by 18 

banks, 14 financial institutions, 27 insurance companies, 

2 foreign exchange entities and 7 offshore entities. 

These institutions offer investors a variety of financial 

services with the highest quality and security standards. 

In sum, Guatemala is a mature destination both for 

high-end tourism and investors seeking stability and 

good rates of return. This is why I encourage iconvienna 

participants to consider my country when contemplating 

foreign direct investment away from European 

markets. 

In addition to its good road network, Guatemala also 

boasts and excellent infrastructure. This fact, together 

with internationally recognized human resources 

standards is the reason why, for instance, Guatemala has 

been selected as a destination of choice when setting call 

centre up, providing services the world over. 



Fotos: Embassy of Nicaragua

Nicaragua 

Greetings 

Dear readers! 

H. E. Álvaro José Robelo González 

Ambassador of Nicaragua to Austria, Liechtenstein, 

San Marino, Greece, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates 

I 

am very pleased that the Embassy of Nicaragua participates 

another time at the European Business and 

Investment Forum iconienna granting business opportunities 

to international entrepreneurs. 

Let me congratulate Dr. Gerhard Hrebicek and his 

staff for their efforts in organizing this business forum. 

In recent years, Nicaragua has gone from being the 

best kept secret, to stand out as an attractive investment 

destinations because of its favourable business climate, 

which has been steadily improving thanks to the joint 

efforts of the Government of Nicaragua, the private 

sector and related institutions. In 2014 were made major 

reforms to reduce times for key procedures such as 

starting a business; furthermore, remained as one of the 

safest countries in the region. 

This in addition to its abundant natural resources, 

social and political stability has allowed Nicaragua to 

become the perfect destination for foreign investments, 

resulting in record numbers. In 2014, the country's DGP 

grew by 4.7 percent to US $ 11,806 million. Likewise, 

total exports were US $ 5,143 million and foreign direct 

investment flows reached US $ 1,447 million for the first 

time in history. 

We invite you to visit Nicaragua as one of the most 

attractive destinations in the Western Hemisphere for 

international companies looking to grow and optimize 

their operations. In this case the Ministry of Development, 

Industry and Trade (MIFIC; www.mific.gob.ni), 

the official Investment and Export Promotion Agency of 

Nicaragua (PRONicaragua; www.pronicaragua.org) are 

pleased to assist any interested entrepreneurs in Nicaragua 

to provide information about the competitive advantages 

that the country offers, the excellent opportunities 

for investment and business in key sectors, the solid 

legal framework and investment incentives. 

Nicaragua grants preferential access to international 

markets through a variety of signed agreements. 

Therefore Nicaragua is Party to the 

• Association Agreement with the European Union 

(AdA) 

• Central America Common Market Treaty 

• Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) 

• Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the 

United States of America and the Dominican Republic 

• Generalized System of Preferences with Japan, Norway, 

Canada, Russian Federation and Switzerland 

• Preferential Access Agreement with Venezuela, Cuba 

and Colombia 

Nevertheless Nicaragua is still looking to further 

strengthen trade relations and hopes that iconvienna 

will serve as a platform to achieve that objective. 

I express my sincere gratitude to the President of iconvienna 

for the possibility to participate at the twelfth 

edition of this business forum. 

Foto: Embassy of Nicaragua 



Foto: Embassy of Venezuela

Venezuela 

Greetings 

Congratulations to 

inconannual 2016 

H. E. Jesse Chacón 

Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 

to Austria, Croatia and Slovakia 

I 

would like to take this opportunity 

to congratulate iconvienna – the 

European Business and Investment 

Forum – for its 12 th Anniversary. 

This Forum is a unique platform 

for business networks and the 

best arena to exchange ideas regarding 

the regional and international 

cooperation. 

Venezuela is a country of opportunities 

for investment in sectors 

such as energy, telecommunication, 

agriculture, tourism, industry, mine 

and many others. The Venezuelan 

Government is working on the promotion 

of new sectors of investment 

in order to transform our productive 

system, which aim to reinvigorate 

our economy. 

The mining is one of the most immediate 

sources that the country has 

and is part of a plan the Government 

wants to reactivate the Mine Arc, 

where we have about 44 thousand 

between gold and diamond, which 

will cover strategic areas with high 

industrial value. The aim is to diversify 

the sectors of economy with 

a goal to increase the performance 

and productivity. 

We believe that iconvienna 

would allow us to increase and 

strengthen our strategic partnership 

with Austria and Europe and to establish 

equal relationships taking 

into account our solidarity, integration 

and justice values. 

As Ambassador, I would like to 

wish the organizers and participants 

a successful conference that 

will bring fruitful debates and opportunities 

to the countries of Latin 

America and the Caribbean. 

Foto: Embassy of Venezuela 




Panama 

Greetings 

Panama, hub of 

the Americas 

H.E. Paulina Franceschi, Ph.D 

Ambassador of Panama to Austria 

It is a great pleasure for the Embassy of Panama to participate 

in iconvienna to whom I extend my gratitude 

and congratulations for the twelfth edition of this 

business forum. 

Panama is world famous for its 48-mile canal that 

connects the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, 

it is no coincidence that the Panama Canal stands out as 

the image of Panama throughout the world, more over 

now with its expansion being underway. Its strategic 

location, infrastructure and connected area make Panama 

an ideal destination for meetings, conventions, business 

in general and living. Being a point of contact and 

a crossing site, this small isthmus is considered a true 

melting point of races. Our land is also home to more 

species of birds and trees throughout the Americas. 

Its geographical position gives this country a unique 

characteristic as a natural Hub for the Americas. Far beyond 

the interconnectivity by air, maritime and logistics, 

Panama is also home to the City of Knowledge, an 

innovative project that aims at expanding the knowledge 

platform; and in the near future, Panama will host 

the Humanitarian Hub for the region. 

According to the IMF and the Economic Commission 

for Latin America and the Caribbean Countries Panama's 

economy is one of the most stable, sustainable and 

increasing in America. Its main economic activities are 

financial, tourism and logistics, which represent 75% 

of the GDP. In 2015, Panama reached 6% of economic 

growth, with only 0.2% of inflation. The country has the 

highest per capita income in Central America. Additionally, 

the infrastructure sector is a booming factor that 

has contributed to boost its economy. This sustained 

growth translates into improved quality of life of the average 

citizen, with more access to goods and services. 

Panama's banking system has over 90 main worldwide 

banks with hundreds of branches, located in the 

metropolitan area and throughout the provinces. The 

advantages of Panama's banking center are a set of stable 

economic and labor rules, a high degree of technological 

modernization, encrypted account services, an 

extensive network of international and immediate communication 

with international capital markets. In the 

province of Colon, we have the second biggest Free Zone 

in the world, among other economic zones thorough the 

country, like the Panama-Pacific Area. 

Some activities to do in Panama are rainforest tours, 

surfing, snorkeling, diving, hiking, camping, birdwatching, 

white water rafting, beaches resorts and more. In 

Panama City, you can enjoy world-class dining, nightlife, 

casinos and shopping! 

Foto: Embassy of Panama 



Fotos: Embassy of El Salvador

El Salvador 

Greetings 

El Salvador, a Country 

of Opportunities 

H.E. Carmen María Gallardo Hernández 

Ambassador of El Salvador to Austria and Concurrent ambassador 

to Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia and Permanent 

Representative to United Nations in Vienna. 

The Embassy of El Salvador in Vienna has the honour 

to congratulate the 12 th European Business 

and Investment Forum that provides an important 

economic platform in order to promote business 

contacts network, in multiple regions and countries 

around the world. 

I highly appreciate to address you in this year's edition 

of the magazine, especially to share why El Salvador is 

a country of opportunities, its geographic location enables 

a short access time to major cities in North and South 

America; the country has an export-oriented economy, it 

is an ideal destination for tourism and business. 

El Salvador enjoys wide-spread international support 

with solid partnerships. Numerous multinational 

companies have chosen El Salvador as an investment 

destination; El Salvador also has trade agreements with 

43 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Together 

we represent a potential market of 1.2 billion consumers. 

The fDi Intelligence, a division of the Financial Times, 

has classified El Salvador as the most cost effective country 

in Central America. El Salvador's competitive costs 

are in terms of labor costs, electricity rates for commercial 

and industrial users, tax incentives to investors, specialized 

textiles and apparel, tourism and many more. 

El Salvador offers an attractive platform of investment 

in the energy sector –a market based on production 

costs, Bids based on long-term contracts, Investment 

opportunities in renewable energy, Clear rules under a 

legal framework that promotes the diversification of our 

energy matrix, at small and large scale and Attractive 

tax incentives for renewable energy investments. 

Another opportunity that El Salvador offers it is tax 

incentive scheme to investors, that provides several exemptions 

from income tax to municipal taxes, and taxes 

on transfers of real-estate property as well as customs 

duties and taxes on the import of machinery, equipment, 

raw materials and other articles used in the production 

of goods and services. 

In addition, El Salvador offers attractive investment 

opportunities to specialized textile and clothing companies 

wishing to enter the regional Central and North 

American markets based on the favorable tariff conditions 

of FTAs with the U.S. (CAFTA) and the EU. 

In recent years, the tourism sector has undergone 

a significant expansion, like the natural wealth of the 

country, the historical past inherited from the Maya, 

the pleasant climate, the hospitality of Salvadorians and 

highlighting the Investment Opportunities in Tourism. 

In this sense, for more information, contact El Salvador's 

National Export and Investment Promotion Agency 

(PROESA), offers various services to support you during 

the process of evaluation, establishment and operation 

of your business in El Salvador (www.proesa.gob.sv/ 

info@proesa.gob.sv). 

Foto: Embassy of El Salvador 



Foto: Embassy of Colombia

Colombia 

Greetings 

Dear readers! 

H. E. Jaime Alberto Cabal Sanclemente 

Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia to Austria, 

and non-resident Ambassador to Croatia, 

Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, 

Slovenia and Slovakia 

I 

wish to congratulate iconvienna on the success of 

The European Business and Investment Forum that 

allows countries and companies to strengthen trade 

relations, exchange experiences and network in a 

unique atmosphere. 

In this context, Colombia is, without doubt, an attractive 

partner as being a country that thanks to successful 

development strategies achieved an average growth 

of 4% over the last 15 years and, thus, offers more and 

more thriving business opportunities; a fact that is reflected 

also in the constantly falling unemployment 

which reached the lowest rate of the last 15 years in 2015 

with 8.9% and, that way, approaches the goal of extreme 

poverty eradication. 

This success development strategies focused on the 

investment of US $ 35 billion in the country's infrastructure, 

which is one of the main economic sectors besides 

mining and energy, agriculture, manufacture, technology, 

and tourism. 

As for the mining and energy sector, Colombia is 

the worldwide fourth largest exporter of coal, growing 

in gold production, and ranks among the first producers 

of Latin America in nickel production. Also 55% of 

the planet's emeralds, considered the best in quality, are 

produced in Colombia. A noteworthy fact is that in 2014 

Colombia was ranked first in Latin America and seventh 

in the world in producing biofuels according to the 

“Global Energy Architecture Performance Index 2014”. 

As development and peace are two interactive and 

economically decisive factors, the Colombian Government 

is investing around US $ 457 million in the "Colombia 

Siembra" program with the object of planting 

one million additional hectares until 2018, to increase 

productivity and promote the agricultural sector which 

plays a significant role in the country's peace process. 

A major beneficiary of Colombia's continuous growth 

and development is the flourishing tourism sector. The 

natural and cultural wealth, with properties inscribed 

on the UNESCO World Heritage List, has turned Colombia 

into an attractive tourist destination, the best in ecotourism 

according to the World Tourism Fair 2014 held 

in Shanghai. 

The growing importance of Colombia is also reflected 

in the bilateral relations between Austria and Colombia, 

proved by this year's reopening of the Austrian Embassy 

in Colombia and the official visit of President Heinz 

Fischer to Colombia in March. 

The World Bank ranked Colombia as most business-friendly 

country in Latin America in its 2015 

"Doing Business Report", and has bseen recognized by 

Austrian companies that are increasingly investing in 

local projects. These are some of the reasons why 

we invite you to invest in Colombia and visit our 

beautiful country. 

Foto: Foto: Embassy of of Colombia 



Fotos: Embassy of Argentinia

Argentinia 

Greetings 

Congratulations 

to iconvienna 2016 

H.E. Rafael Mariano Grossi 

Ambassador of Argentinia to Austria 

It is with great pleasure that I welcome the 

twelfth edition of iconvienna, a prominent 

entrepreneurial and investment forum in 

Central Europe. This year's theme, “International 

Summit on Innovative Entrepreneurship”, 

assertively apprehends the key issue in 

today's global economy: bridging geographical 

boundaries and linking relevant private and 

governmental players, catalyzing investment 

and research to profitably develop transformative 

initiatives. 

As Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs 

Susana Malcorra has stated, Argentina is a 

solid and attractive destination for foreign investors. 

It is the third largest economy in Latin 

America and the Caribbean, has a wealth 

of vast natural resources and an exceptional 

human capital. Argentina's geographical location 

not only gives it immediate access to the 

Southern Cone's population of 244 million, in 

addition to its own 43 million inhabitants, but 

also connects it to the main world markets via 

the South Atlantic and the South Pacific. 

My country has a highly diversified economy. 

The primary sector is internationally 

renowned for its high productivity levels and 

use of advanced technologies. Its well developed 

industrial base includes key sectors 

such as agribusiness, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, 

chemicals, biotechnology and design 

manufacturing. The traditional service sectors 

are also well established, gradually developing 

niche expertise in the most sophisticated 

segments of the value chain, with notable 

growth in software and IT services as well as 

a wide variety of high added value professional 

services. 

In 2016, Argentina has renewed and 

strengthened its historical role as an actor 

present in all relevant international fora, 

from the traditional UN system organizations 

and agencies to the G20, seeking to develop 

a dialogue with international organizations, 

governments and private companies. 

President Mauricio Macri's participation in 

the Davos World Economic Forum at the onset 

of his administration is a clear example 

in this direction. 

Foto: Embassy of Argentinia 




Ecuador 

Greetings 

Congratulations 

to iconvienna 2016 

H.E. Wilson Marcelo Pástor Morris 

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic 

of Ecuador to the International Organizations in Vienna 

Iwish to congratulate iconvienna for reasserting 

itself all over the years as a prestigious 

business and investment forum 

which efficiently promotes the exchange 

of experiences and the generation of enterprise 

networks. 

The economic and social indicators that 

Ecuador has achieved since 2007 turned it 

into a successful country in Latin America, 

which is mainly due to the transformation 

of the traditional political landscape 

and used resources, especially oil, as its 

main source of wealth to invest in health, 

education and infrastructure. 

Ecuador is a country with strong comparative 

advantages due to its geography 

and luminosity, which allow a high productivity, 

as well as the potential of cultivating 

and harvesting all year round. Ecuador 

– although small in territory – has 

been endowed with abundant natural 

resources, fertile soil, fish-filled seas, fair 

climate, varied topography and – above all – 

industrious and hard-working people. 

This has allowed us to bring to market 

high quality products, many of which are 

sold in European countries and around 

the world: bananas, shrimp, tuna, passion 

fruit and roses, to name a few. 

We are looking forward to the final approval 

on the accession of Ecuador to the 

EU Trade Agreement with Colombia and 

Peru, which will allow us to benefit from 

improved access for our main exports to 

the EU market as well as increase our opportunities 

for the micro-, small- and medium-sized 

enterprises. 

Ecuador provides high quality products 

which comply with international standards 

as well as production models that are 

environmentally friendly and sensitive to 

the community. For this and more, Ecuador 

is an excellent trading partner. 

Foto: Embassy of Ecuador 


About 

iconvienna 

iconvienna is an organization, which aims to 

promote business contacts between Austrian 

and international companies and regions in the 

CEE countries and Russia. Annually in April, 

the European Business and Investment Forum 

iconvienna invites to an active dialogue and personal 

networking. According to the motto: 

"Make Contacts to Contracts" 

We provide services for 

participants and partners 

through personal 

contact and presentation 

opportunities. We develop the 

most recognized European platform 

for business and economics. 

iconvienna allows company representatives 

and decision makers to 

present projects in exclusive circles 

and specifically to establish 

contacts with export markets. 

iconvienna in brief 

The European Business & Investment 

Forum iconvienna is an exclusive 

Business & Networking 

Event, promoting business contacts 

between Austrian and international 

companies in CEE regions and 

Russia and encouraging project 

and investment business between 

East and West. Following the motto 

"Make Contacts to Contracts", 

top-level national and international 

decision makers from politics 

and economy, international 

experts and representatives of regions 

meet at the forum. We deliver 

value to participants and partners 

through personal contacts with 

executives, entrepreneurs, government 

officials, project partners, as 

well as concrete business opportunities 

at the forum. 

Conference Language 

German and English with simultaneous 

translations 

Welcome reception in 

Vienna City Hall 

The Opening Night at the Vienna 

City Hall is an excellent occasion 


for easy initial contacts and thus 

promote networking and know 

how exchange, offering delegations 

of regions the opportunity to 

introduce themselves to potential 

business partners, investors and 

decision makers. 


iconvienna 



(left to right) 

Gerhard Hrebicek, 

President iconvienna; 

Anna Maria Hochhauser, 

Secretary-General, 

Austrian Federal 

Economic Chamber; 

Wilhelm Molterer; 

Director European Fund 

for Strategic Investments; 

Andreas Matthä, 

Executive Director 

ÖBB Infrastruktur 

Site visit Vienna Central Station 

Foto: Fernanda Nigro 

Conference at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber 

Expert Panels 

During the day, national and international 

experts present and 

discuss contemporary key issues 

that are vital to Europe's integration 

and sustainable development. 

(left to right) Gerhard Hrebicek, President iconvienna; H.E. Alvaro Jose Robelo Gonzalez, Ambassador of 

Nicaragua to Austria; H.E. Carmen Maria Gallardo Hernandez, Ambassador of El Salvador to Austria; 

H.E. Gloria Del Carmen Young Chizmar, Ambassador of Panama to Austria; H.E. Jaime Alberto Cabal 

Sanclemente, Ambassador of Colombia to Austria; H.E. Ramon Quinones, Ambassador of the Dominican 

Republic to Austria; H.E. Ali Uzcategui Duque, Ambassador of Venezuela to Austria; H.E. Antonio Roberto 

Castellanos Lopez, Ambassador of Guatemala to Austria 

Project Exhibition 

Enterprises and regions present 

best practice projects and opportunities. 

This is an excellent chance 

to network, attract investors and to 

acquire new business partners. 

High Ranking Participants 

CEOs, entrepreneurs, top politicians, 

representatives of regions, 

international organizations and 

science meet at the iconvienna forum. 

Including side events, participants 

from approximately 40 different 

countries join each forum. 

Vision 

iconvienna – the appealing platform 

in the center of Europe for the 

effective promotion of economic 

and social integration in Europe. >> 


(left to right) 

Gerhard Burian, 

iconvienna; 

Florian Saliger, 

ÖBB Infrastruktur AG; 

Johannes Turner, 


Wolfgang Zottl, 


Amb. Margit Waestfelt; 

Gerhard Hrebicek, 

President iconvienna; 

René Alfons Haiden, 

iconvienna 




(left to right) Dianne H. B. Welsh, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Founding Director of the Entrepreneurship Program at The University of North 

Carolina Greensboro; Alois Steinbichler, CEO Kommunalkredit Austria; Gerhard Hrebicek, President iconvienna; Andreas Matthä, Executive Director ÖBB 

Infrastruktur; Stane Bozicnik, University of Maribor, Faculty of Civil Engineering; Ingolf Schädler, Head of Innovation (III/I), Federal Ministry of Transport, 

Innovation and Technology 

Mission 

iconvienna offers an appealing, 

promoting and effective environment 

including the features of the 

city of Vienna such as: 

• Vienna as a secure hub for the 

international Project-Businesses 

for representatives from politics 

and economy 

• a mix of new and effective business 

and social events for regions 

and companies including amongst 

others exhibitions, presentations, 

lounges, contact areas, panel discussions 

and keynote speeches, 

dinners and receptions, as well as 

• cooperation with public institutions, 

business incorporations, 

media and business partners 

from the East and West 

iconvienna emblazes the background 

for a successful integration 

between East and West, especially 

• the actual economic development 

within the East and the West 

• regional "Priority"-Projects 

• Best Practice experiences of regions 

and companies, as well as 

• environmental, resource and 

financial questions 

iconvienna provides an effective 

and efficient contact platform between 

East and West, in which 

• targeted contacts to experts and decision 

makers can be established, 

• the attractive side events offer an 

ideal atmosphere to 

• establish a cooperation network 

including targeted contacts to 

business partners, 

• the international business network 

can be of use year-round and 

• equity financing, growth capital 

and advancing across partners 

can be provided. 


iconvienna 


(left to right) Erich Foglar ÖGB, Andrea Scheichl Austrian Patent Office, Gerhard Hrebicek iconvienna, Birgit Kolb youLEAD, Willy Kempel Federal Ministry 

for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs 

FACTS AND FIGURES 

Patronage: 

Dr. Michael Häupl, Mayor and 

Regional Governor of Vienna 

Countries of origin since 2005: 

Participants from 78 countries 

Chairman of the Advisory Board: 

KR Dr. René Alfons Haiden 

President: 

Foundation: 2004 

First Forum: 2005 

KR DI Dr. Gerhard Hrebicek, MBA 

Target Groups: National and international Top 

Decision-Makers from international 

organizations, Politics, Economy, 

Science and Media Representatives of 

Regions from Russia, Central & Eastern 

Europe, Latin America and the 

Caribbean and USA 

Motto: 

Make Contacts to Contracts 

Participants since 2005: around 8.300 

Speakers since 2005: around 620 

FOCUS 2016: 

International Summit on 

Innovative Entrepreneurship 

Previous Focus Areas: 

• East-West Summit on Regional Cooperation through Innovation 

and Entrepreneurship (2015) 

• East-West Summit on Innovation and Smart Cities (2014) 

• East-West Summit on Innovation and Infrastructure (2013) 

• East-West Summit on Innovations for Growth in the 

Danube Region (2012) 

• East-West Summit on Innovation and Sustainability (2011) 

• East-West Summit on Energy and Sustainability (2010) 

• East-West Summit: New opportunities through East-West 

Cooperation (2009) 

• Challenge Russia - Europe-Russia: New Opportunities (2008) 

• Future Investments for Europe (2007) 

• Sustainable Solutions for the Information Society (2006) 

• Information and Consulting (2005) 


youLEAD 

young leaders dialogue 

The second iconvienna YOUNG 

LEADERS DIALOGUE took 

place on April 22, 2015 at the 

Austrian Federal Chamber of 

Commerce. According to the 

motto of iconvienna "MAKE 

CONTACTS TO CONTRACTS", 

the main purpose of bringing 

young entrepreneurs, young 

leaders and high potentials 

from different disciplines as 

science, transportation, technology, 

etc. from Central and 

Eastern Europe together and to 

facilitate exchange and develop 

joint views on issues of key 

relevance for the future, was 

successfully accomplished. 

iconvienna 

YOUNG 

LEADERS 

Fotos: Fernanda Nigro 

DIALOGUE 

Focus areas were mobility, 

sustainable energy, infrastructure 

and growth, entrepreneurial 

opportunities as 

well as the future of Europe. All 

these interesting and significant 

topics were discussed over the 

course of keynote speeches, followed 

by a World Café, where the 

participants had the opportunity 

to pass five stations, such as Mobility, 

Sustainable energy, Entrepreneurial 

opportunities, etc., to 

ex change opinions and to consequently 

present the outcomes. 

The event was opened by the 

President of iconvienna Gerhard 

Hrebicek. In his welcome speech 

he explained the relationship between 

the European Business and 

Investment Forum iconvienna and 

Young Leaders Dialogue. 

The event proceeded with 

a keynote held by Dianne H.B. 

Welsh – Professor of Entrepreneurship 

and Founding Director 

of the Entrepreneurship Program 

at The University of North Carolina 

Greensboro, who emphasized 

that entrepreneurship required 


youLEAD 

youLEAD 

Young Leaders Dialogue 

Format: keynote speeches 

followed by a World 

Café, Networking 

Coffee Breaks by 

café +co 

Topic: Create the future 

of Europe through 

Re search, Innovation 

and Cooperation 

Participants: young entrepreneurs, 

young leaders and 

high potentials up 

to the age of 40, 

open-minded and 

active involvement 

Your benefit in attending the 

conference: networking with likeminded 

young leaders and senior 

decision-makers 

senior experts & mediation experts 

Further Information: 

www.icon-vienna.net/youLEAD 

creativity and innovativeness. 

Young entrepreneurs need to have 

both, a skillset and a mindset. 

The event was also marked by 

four impulse statements and interesting 

discussions. Throughout 

the dialogue the young leaders 

jointly developed concepts for 

the future of Europe in general, 

exchanged their opinion, analyzed 

the relevant requirements and 

discussed essential findings with 

leading decision-makers such 

as Anita Graser, Scientist at the 

AIT Mobility Department; Roland 

Ambrosch, Managing Director 

ProAutomation GmbH; Andreas 

Hajek, Editor-in-Chief CIO Guide 

and Karin Mottl, Managing Director 

Energiepark Bruck/Leitha. 

The findings discussed at the 

opening panel meeting were a 

focus throughout the iconvienna 

2015 conference. 


world café 


youLEAD 


Foto: Birgit Kolb 

Foto: Florian Saliger 

Birgit Kolb 

Chair youLEAD 

Florian Saliger 

Chair youLEAD 

The future is in our hands − 

let’s shape it together! 

This year's youLEAD will 

take place on April 20, 2016 

at the Austrian Chamber of 

Commerce. Young entrepreneurs 

will have the exciting opportunity 

to join a community of 

other like-minded young leaders 

and attend an event focusing on 

the future. 

In line with the topic of the 12 th 

iconvienna conference "International 

Summit on Innovative Entrepreneurship" 

that will convene in 

Vienna from 20 – 22 of April 2016, 

we would like to bring young leaders 

together and jointly discuss on 

innovative entrepreneurship, alternative 

financing, digitalization. 

Young potentials will again exchange 

views, analyze the relevant 

requirements and discuss findings 

with leading decision-makers. 

PROGRAM OVERVIEW youLEAD 2016 

April 20, 2016 

14.00 Moderation 

Michael Hamberger, Spokesman Experts Group Business Mediation, 

Austrian Federal Economic Chamber 

Welcome 

Gerhard Hrebicek, President iconvienna 

Birgit Kolb, Chair youLEAD 

Florian Saliger, Chair youLEAD 

14.30 Impulse Statements 

GAMIFICATION 

Georg Steinfelder, Paul Spiesberger-Höckner, Os 

"Os are presenting their experiences as independent app developers and 

how they tackle social issues with gamification" 

CROWDFUNDING 

Marina Wittner , Parliamentary Assistant European Parliament 

"Europe has to support innovative ideas and evolve a new spirit of entrepreneurship 

in order to create an attractive hub for business and investment" 

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS 

Gianluca Vitale, AVL List 

"A sustainable vehicle development process for the mobility of the future" 

MORE THAN FACEBOOK 

Andreas Viehhauser, Buddy me 

"Fake it until you make it: Why many platforms fake their user numbers, 

but real community still remains unbeaten" 

15.30 Coffee Break 

16.00 Speed Networking 

16.30 youLEAD World Café Young Leaders 

17.30 Wrap-up 


• Fairtrade 

und Rainforest 

zertifizierter Kaffee 

• Fairtrade zertifizierter 

Bio-Kakao 

• Bio-Alpenmilch und 

Bio-Rübenzucker 

• Becher zu 100 % 

abbaubar 

höchster genuss. 

maximal nachhaltig. 

www.maxPLANET.at

European Strategy for the Danube Region 

European Strategy 

for the Danube Region 

The river Danube is one of the longest and most important rivers of our continent. Its basin 

includes wide parts of Central and Eastern Europe. On its way to the Black Sea Danube 

river passes 10 countries, almost 20 countries have at least tiny parts of the entire river 

basin. Along the river 10 autochthon languages are spoken and 12 in the whole basin. In 

20th century the Iron Curtain divided the river into a capitalistic and a communist part for 

more than 40 years. And still the river is divided by European means: many countries on 

the rivers shores are not member of the European Union. 

These circumstances make the river Danube Region 

the most international in Europe. Neither 

Rhine-, Elbe- nor Volga-Region have such a multicultural 

and administrative heterogenic structure. 

Also population density, GDP and infrastructure 

are very specific in the Danube Region. Density is far 

lower than in the Rhine basin and referring to GDP and 

infrastructure there is a big gap between countries in 

the Danube Basin. 

This very unique situation in Central and Eastern 

Europe was the main reasons for implementing a macroregional 

strategy for the Danube Region. Macro-regional 

strategies follow the characteristics of soft policy tools 

and are applying a multi-level and cross-sectoral approach 

at the crossroads of territorial policies and foreign 

relations. The EU Strategy for the Danube Region 

was initiated in 2009 by European Council. 14 states 

participate in this political program. The aim is to create 

a new momentum through a broad range of harmonized 

activities. They can lead to a better spending of European 

funding for investments in the future, thus bringing 

prosperity and better living conditions to its citizens. 

European Council adopted Strategy and Action-Plan 

in 2011. 12 Priority Areas were identified dealing with 

Waterways, land and air transport, energy, culture and 

tourism, water quality, environmental risks, biodiversity 

and landscapes, knowledge society, competitiveness, 

people and skills, institutional capacity and security. 

Within this framework the City of Vienna and 

the Slovenian Center for Excellence in Finance were 

asked as coordinators for Priority Area 

10, Institutional Capacity and Increase 

of Cooperation. 

The heterogenic environment of the 

Danube Region needs an increase of cooperation 

and to improve its institutional 

capacity. Among the 14 participating 

states there are huge disparities in terms 

of rule of law, transparency, democracy, the market economy 

and political stability. Efficient administrations are 

prerequisite for reforms and effective investments. The 

challenge in the Danube Region are f. e. insufficient development 

of e-government, lack of transparency and 

administrative weaknesses. Moreover, a structured bottom-up 

process and the involvement of civil society can 

contribute to sound and efficient steps to better living. 

The stabilization of political systems in countries and on 

local and regional level will enforce the macro-region. 

Priority Area 10 therefore concentrates 

• on development of public administrations capacities, 

• on urban policies as cities are the closest to citizens, 

• on the involvement of local actors as these are very 

active on the fields of social inclusion, sustainable 

development and transparency and 

• on innovative financing to raise the absorption of 

EU funds. 

Priority Area 10 has implemented several tools to 

match the targets: 

Foto: istockphoto.com 



SOME OF THE ONGOING PROJECTS 

SUPPORTED BY THESE TOOLS ARE: 

Training4Ports for increasing the quality of port services 

(Romania, Ukraine and Moldova) 

CDCP Roma for revising the population's attitudes 

towards Roma (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia) 

Authentic Danube is a project to delivering tourism 

excellence for visitors and industry (Bulgaria, Serbia 

and Austria) 

CSDanube will help to increase cybersecurity in the 

Danube Region (Czech Rep., Austria, Croatia, Moldova, 

Serbia, Slovakia) 

B-CAP is combining building capacity in the educational 

sector and the restoration of historical buildings 

in Romania (Austria, Romania) 

Priority Area 10 is working for a better life for people in 

the Danube Region by involving an immense variety of 

actors: NGOs, trade unions, chambers of commerce, 

ministries, financial institutions, cities, regions and all 

innovative actors in the entire macro-region 

www.danube-capacitycooperation.eu 

Danube Financing Dialogue (DFD) is a series of international conferences 

hosted by the Danube Region's National Banks. It merges the business promoter's 

needs and the existing funding sources and financing products. 

Euro Access encompasses the most relevant programs for the Danube 

Region. The main objective is the development and maintenance of a 

user-friendly database. It will include important information on 

EU-Funding relevant for the Danube Region till 2020. 

Rudolf Schicker is Coordinator 

of Priority Area 10 of EU-Strategy 

for the Danube Region 

Foto: EUSDR 

START – Danube Region Project Fund aims at providing Seed 

Money. To cover the project expenses from the beginning, beneficiaries 

receive an early pre-financing of 50% of the total grant. The Seed Money 

principle shall help small organizations. 

Technical Assistance Facility for Danube Projects (TAF-DRP) fills the 

gap between project idea owners and available funding sources by providing 

consultant services. The services are financed by the facility. 


CONDA 

Crowdinvesting as 

an alternative venture 

financing option 

Ever lower interest rates and declining corporate lending make individuals as well as entrepreneurs 

increasingly look for alternative investment and financing opportunities. This is where crowdinvesting 

– also known as equity or lending based crowdfunding – comes into play. With crowdinvesting, 

entrepreneurs profit from the financial strength of the public (the crowd) who collectively invests into 

their business. On the other hand small investors may receive attractive returns on their investment. 

Crowdinvesting is a special form of crowdfunding. 

In a public crowdinvesting campaign many people 

invest in a company and later participate in 

its success. At CONDA, the leading equity crowdfunding 

platform in Austria, investors are given the opportunity 

to invest small sums, starting from 100 Euro 

up to 5,000 Euro into promising startups and SMEs. 

Crowdinvesting is more than just a trend. There is 

hardly any other financial product that gives small investors 

the opportunity to explore, interact with and 

decide for an individual investment target by themselves. 

By doing so, crowdinvestors share the entrepreneurial 

risks with the companies they invest in, let 

their capital work in real economy and thus generate 

long-term passive income. Through the removal of intermediaries, 

the money reaches the companies faster 

and more direct, the investor holds full responsibility 

for the investment and its return, chances and risks likewise. 

Crowdinvesting can therefore be referred to as 

the democratization of finance. 

The roll of crowdinvesting in 

financing innovative ventures 

As actual equity crowdfunding is deemed too complex 

in Austria, due to the established types of companies 

and the overload of handling a multitude of (direct) investors, 

the most frequently used financial instrument 

for crowdinvesting is a subordinate loan. Depending on 

the contract design, the money invested from the crowd 

may be qualified as equity mezzanine, as it is in the case 

of CONDA. The larger part of the investment's return is 

tied to the company's growth. 



A lot of innovative entrepreneurs chose crowdinvesting 

for the benefits that come with this type of financing 

– the crowdinvesting campaign: 

• Building a community: gaining direct market feedback, 

building a company image and trust, enhancing 

customer loyalty 

• Media attention: active communication online and 

in social media as well as traditional PR achieve a 

high marketing value 

• Equity mezzanine financing: better financial standing 

can be leveraged to access other loans, public 

funds or to approach investors 

The future of crowdinvesting in Austria and Europe 

Since its launch, the CONDA crowd has invested more 

than 8.57 million Euro in 44 successful crowdinvesting 

campaigns. The CONDA community counts more than 

15,000 users and 5,000 crowdinvestors, the average investment 

being a little over 1,000 Euro. 

In September 2015 a new, so called "crowdfunding 

law" came into effect in Austria. The prospectus requirement 

that previously started at a financing sum of 

250,000 Euro, was elevated to 5 million Euro, making 

Crowdinvesting much more attractive for innovative 

startups with ambitious goals and SMEs. The new law 

is considered a great success across the national opinion 

leaders and is a great opportunity for the still so young 

equity crowdfunding industry. "Even at closer inspection, 

we consider the law a great success and a confirmation 

of our crowdinvesting model, because we already 

meet the legal requirements. We believe the market is 

at its early stages and with this new legal framework we 

look very confidently into the future." said Paul Pöltner, 

managing director of CONDA. 

Until recently, CONDA was mainly operating within 

the Austrian and German market. Due to the fact that 

crowdfunding and crowdinvesting are worldwide trends 

with double to triple digit growth rates per year, CON- 

DA aims to serve the entire European market. In March 

2016 it opened its platform for Slovenian and Slovakian 

projects and investors, and more countries are to follow 

soon. CONDAs vision is to foster entrepreneurship and 

innovation on a European level by delivering highquality 

processes and contracts to entrepreneurs and investors 

and enabling cross-country investments. 


Kommunalkredit Austria 

New Ways 

of Infrastructure Financing 

Under the constraints of budget consolidation, limits on public debt are being tightened to a growing 

extent. Financing infrastructure projects from the public budget alone is therefore becoming 

more and more difficult. Regulatory requirements limit the possibility for banks to carry long-term 

assets on their balance sheets. In this strategic environment, which is characterized by the imperative 

of budgetary discipline, on the one hand, and the need to invest in municipal infrastructure, on 

the other hand, broadening the basis for public infrastructure financing is of particular importance. 

The current edition of the Municipal Finance Report 

1 shows that capital expenditure by municipal 

authorities increased by 17.8% to EUR 2.1 billion 

in 2014. In nominal terms, this is the third highest 

level of municipal investments since 2000; the highest 

level was reached in 2003 with EUR 2.2 billion. 92% of 

the increase, i.e. EUR 300 million, is due to higher investments 

by communities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. 

Excluding new debt, this level of capital expenditure 

is the highest since 2000 (see Diagram 1). In their 

investment activities, municipalities have to comply with 

the provisions of the Austrian Stability Compact (in force 

since 2011) and aim for a balanced result in accordance 

with the Maastricht criteria by 2016; since 2011, this target 

has been met fully, with the municipalities reporting 

a positive result, most recently in the order of EUR 185 

million or 0.06% of GDP. This is a clear indication of the 

commitment to budgetary discipline at the local level. In 

2014, the level of local government debt was reduced by 

another EUR 79.9 million or 0.7% to EUR 11.27 billion. 

Kommunalkredit Austria specializes in public-sectorrelated 

infrastructure project business, offering comprehensive 

advisory services and innovative solutions. 

Kommunalkredit acts as a link and a bridge between 

clients and project sponsors, on the one hand, and institutional 

investors, on the other hand. Its activities are 

concentrated in three core segments: "Social Infrastructure", 

"Energy and Environment" and "Transport". 

The strategic framework for infrastructure projects 

has changed significantly in recent years: 

• As the financial latitude allowed to public entities 

is increasingly limited on account of the need for 

budget consolidation, infrastructure projects can no 

longer be financed exclusively from government debt 

and demand an innovative approach. 

• Regulatory requirements to be met by banks in accordance 

with Basel III rules, such as the new stable 

funding ratio (reduced possibilities of maturity 

transformation), make it more and more difficult 

for banks to carry long-term assets on their balance 

sheets and increase the costs of long-term loans. 

• Faced with a historic low of capital market yields, 

with base rates of 0.95% for 10-year investments and 

less than 1.5% for 30-year investments, institutional 

investors have to broaden their investment universe. 

Public-sector-related infrastructure projects with 

stable cash flows are an attractive target segment. 

Such an environment calls for new approaches to the 

financing of long-term infrastructure projects. Having 

anticipated this development, Kommunalkredit has po- 

1 

Published by Kommunalkredit Austria in cooperation with the Association of Austrian Municipalities and the Association of Austrian Cities and Towns; www.kommunalkredit.at/gemeindefinanzbericht2015 



Total investments 

Foto: Petra Spiola 

Share of 

investments 

financed from 

new debt 

Share of investments 

financed 

from own 

resources 

Mag. Alois Steinbichler 

Chairman of the Exec. Board 

of Kommunalkredit Austria 

Diagram 1: Investments by municipalities (excluding Vienna) in EUR million 

sitioned itself as a specialist in infrastructure project 

business for public-sector clients. The bank bridges the 

gap between the needs of project sponsors for structuring 

and financing solutions and institutional investors 

(insurance companies, investment funds, etc.) looking 

for investment opportunities. Kommunalkredit's special 

focus is on project structuring and financing of the 

construction phase; to a growing extent, long-term finance 

for the operational phase will be provided, above 

all, by institutional investors. On this basis, added value 

is created for municipalities, clients and project developers 

as well as institutional investors. 

Your life is our passion. 

Culture, real estate, logistics, media and 

environment: Wien Holding brings our city 

to life. Wherever and whenever you want. 

365 days a year. For everyone in Vienna. 

www.wienholding.at 

making 

v enna 

worth 

living. 

making vienna worth living. 


ITKAM 

䤀洀瀀爀漀瘀攀礀漀甀爀戀甀猀椀渀攀猀猀椀渀䤀琀愀氀礀愀渀搀䄀甀猀琀爀椀愀 

Italian Sounding 

Der italienische Ursprung von Lebensmitteln ist ein wichtiges Kaufkriterium für 

den österreichischen Konsumenten. Es ist daher verständlich, dass Lebensmittelproduzenten 

versuchen ihr Produkt italienisch aussehen zu lassen (Italian Sounding), 

um den Absatz zu fördern, obwohl das Produkt keinen Italienbezug hat. 

Jährlich wird weltweit ca. ein Umsatz von 60 Milliarden 

Euro mit Lebensmittelprodukten des Italian 

Sounding erwirtschaftet. Der dadurch entstehende 

Schaden ist aus zweierlei Hinsicht enorm: Der 

Konsument bekommt kein italienisches Produkt und 

verliert das Vertrauen in italienische Produkte; die italienischen 

Lebensmittelproduzenten können wirklich 

italienische Produkte nicht absetzen. Italien exportiert 

in der Tat „nur“ 23 Milliarden Euro an Lebensmittelprodukten. 

Es stellt sich die Frage, wie man gegen diese 

Geschäftspraktiken vorgehen kann. Sofern ein 

Produkt Auswirkungen auf den österreichischen 

Markt hat, ist im Regelfall österreichisches Recht 

anzuwenden; konkret das Lauterkeitsrecht (§48 

Abs 2 IPRG, Art 6 Abs 1 ROM II – VO). Das Lauterkeitsrecht 

besagt, dass eine Geschäftspraktik als 

irreführend gilt, wenn sie unrichtige Angaben 

enthält oder sonst geeignet ist einen Marktteilnehmer 

in Bezug auf das Produkt zu täuschen, 

sodass dieser eine Entscheidung trifft, die er andernfalls 

nicht getroffen hätte (§2 Abs 1 UWG). Ausschlaggebend 

sind also die Angaben, die ein Verkäufer auf 

der Verpackung macht. Darunter versteht man jegliche 

Äußerung über geschäftliche Verhältnisse, die objektiv 

auf ihre Richtigkeit überprüft werden kann. Subjektive 

Werturteile zählen nicht dazu. 

Ein Werbeslogan wie „Italiens bester Kaffee“ wird 

als subjektive Meinung des Werbenden aufgefasst und 

ist so zu verstehen, dass es sich um ein sehr gutes 

Produkt handelt (ÖBI 1977, 166). Auch gelten marktschreierische 

Übertreibungen nicht als 

irreführend, da sie vom Publikum nicht 

ernstgenommen werden. 

Entscheidend ist bei der Feststellung, 

ob eine Irreführung vorliegt, dass der 

Gesamteindruck eines Produktes einen 

Kunden mit durchschnittlicher Aufmerksamkeit 

bei flüchtiger Betrachtung 

Die ITKAM: die Handelskammer 

für wirtschaftliche Beziehungen 

zwischen Deutschland und Italien 

(seit 1911) und Österreich und 

Italien (seit 2013) 

täuscht. Irreführend wäre somit, eine „Pizzaschachtel“ 

im Supermarkt mit dem Namen „da mamma“, der 

italienischen Fahne, der Aufschrift „Original italienische 

Pizza“ – sofern diese Pizza nicht italienisch 

ist. Der Kunde würde wahrscheinlich zu dieser Pizzaschachtel 

greifen und die Pizza die daneben, ohne 

diesen Merkmalen liegt, außer Acht lassen. Unter gewissen 

Voraussetzungen können aber auch einzelne 

Elemente, die einen besondere Blickfang darstellen, 

eine Irreführung begründen (ÖBI 2001, 85-10; ÖBI 

1972, 12 Ung. Sal. II). 

Foto: Thomas Wanker 



Dott.Mag. Thomas Wanker ist als juristischer 

Mitarbeiter bei LGP mit Schwerpunkt 

auf internationale Rechtsbeziehungen, speziell 

in den Bereichen Handels-, Wirtschaftsund 

EU-Recht, tätig. Der Jurist und Ökonom 

begleitet italienische Unternehmen beim 

Markteintritt in Österreich und umgekehrt 

und berät diese beim Ausbau der Marktpräsenz 

vor Ort. Als offizieller Delegierter 

des ITKAM Austrian Desk der Italienischen 

Handelskammer ITKAM setzt sich Thomas 

Wanker zudem auf bilateraler Ebene für die 

Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zwischen Österreich 

und Italien ein. Er hat an den Universitäten 

Trient, Wien und Hamburg sowie an 

der Reading University und LSE studiert, 

wo er Abschlüsse in den Studienrichtungen 

Rechtswissenschaften und Sozialökonomie 

erworben hat. Der gebürtige Südtiroler 

spricht fließend Deutsch, Englisch, Russisch, 

Spanisch und Italienisch. 

In solch einem Fall der Täuschung, kann ein Mitbewerber 

klagen. Er hat die Möglichkeit eine Unterlassung 

zu erwirken. Diesen Anspruch auf Unterlassung, 

hat jeder Unternehmer, der Waren oder Leistungen 

gleicher oder verwandter Art herstellt und in den geschäftlichen 

Verkehr bringt (§14 UWG, OGH 2011, 

17Ob 10/11m). 

Oftmals kommt es jedoch vor, dass ein Unternehmen 

solche Produkte in mehreren europäischen Ländern 

auf den Markt bringt. Nehmen wir an, dass dieses 

Produkt neben Österreich auch in Italien und Deutschland 

die Regale füllt. In diesem Fall ist das Recht des 

jeweiligen Staates anzuwenden (OGH RIS – Justiz RS 

0076930). 

In Italien kann sich der Mitbewerber an die nationale 

Wettbewerbsbehörde (Antitrust) wenden und eine 

Intervention in Form von Bußgeldern (bis zu 10% des 

Umsatzes) verlangen. Die Wettbewerbsbehörde kann 

aber auch etwaige verwaltungsrechtliche Sanktionen 

verhängen. In Deutschland muss der Mitbewerber, 

oder eine Vereinigung zur Förderung wirtschaftliche 

Interessen, gegen diese Geschäftspraktiken vorgehen. 

Auch in Österreich gibt es die Möglichkeit, dass eine 

Vereinigung, die dazu befugt ist, klagt. 

Um Mitbewerber zu unterstützen hat die ITKAM, 

die Handelskammer für wirtschaftliche Beziehungen 

zwischen Deutschland und Italien (seit 1911) und Österreich 

und Italien (seit 2013) einen eigenen Verein 

gegründet. Ziel ist es, den Vertrieb falscher Produkte 

zu unterbinden, den Markt zu überwachen und über 

Marken und Produktmissbrauch zu berichten und gemeinsam 

mit Anwaltskanzleien rechtlich gegen solche 

Geschäftspraktiken zu agieren. 

In Österreich ist die Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Lansky, 

Ganzger + Partner (LGP) der Partner der ITKAM. Mit 

140 Mitarbeitern und Juristen aus rund 20 Ländern zählt 

LGP zu den größten Wirtschaftskanzleien Österreichs. 

Der Italian Desk ist im Set-up der Sozietät ein zentrales 

Element. Sein Kernteam bilden Rechtsanwalt Dr. Gerald 

Ganzger, der Rechts- und Wirtschaftsexperte aus Südtirol 

Dott.Mag. Thomas Wanker, die in Italien aufgewachsene 

Spezialistin für italienisches Recht Tatiana Urdaneta- 

Wittek sowie Rechtsanwalt Doz. DDr. Alexander Egger 

und in Rom Rechtsanwältin Dr. Corinna Marzi. 


Austrian Experts Group on Business Mediation 

Business 

Mediation in 

international projects 

Foto: privat 

The leading mediator – the mediating leader? 

Mediation seems to be a skill 

for experts, primarily external 

ones. Does it make sense 

to think in terms of mediation 

also when it comes to 

leadership? 

Regarding information 

it was easy in former times 

to monitor the flow. Bottom 

Johannes Gotsmy, MAS, MA 

Austrian Experts Group on upwise information was 

Business Mediation EGWIME centralised at the head. Commands 

were given top down 

– through this natural monopoly of information 

more or less unchallenged. Thus the head could 

keep his crew under control quite comfortably. 

The overwhelming availability of all kinds of 

information, running horizontically and not vertically 

any longer, killed the head's power merely 

on beeing the physical meeting point of information. 

This fractal allocation increased creativity 

and speed in developing new ideas. And it superseded 

the position of anyone collecting and 

distributing information. How to react? Trying to 

block the progress and lead a fight against information 

flow on the employee's level obviously is 

a Don Quichotesque fight against wind mills. Not 

to mention all the drawbacks coming along with 

this behavior. So how to define the character of 

leadership regarding the role of information? 

At this point the mediative approach comes 

into play. Not only skills and knowledge are widely 

spread, all the information is decentralised. So 

it requires someone to gather, organise and structure 

– without feeling obliged to put one's stamp 

on the result. That way the cumulative knowledge 

can be utilized at full extent. But, someone 

may object, letting all the ideas sprawl will lead 

to anything but a goal-driven clear result. 

True in many cases. Therefore a distinctive 

leader's role is required. Leading various people 

with different perspectives, a bunch of ideas and 

quite often contradictory interests without killing 

creativity or hindering really good results – that's 

what mediative skills are for. The mediative approach 

guarantees the best of the worlds the employees 

or any other stakeholders live in – thus 

creating solutions which really hit the center of 

the target. 



Foto: Frederic Cirou 

Four most important success factors 

in communication for startups. 

The thriving founder scene of the last two decades 

lead to the development of a lot of new concepts like 

"Agile", "Scrum", "Lean Startup" and "Business Model 

Canvas", to name but a view. 

Focusing in this article on the concepts of "Agile" 

and "Lean Startup" we can see the common denominator 

of both being the "moving target". Both the 

agile manifesto's postulate "to welcome changing 

environment" as well as the lean startup's credo "fail 

often, fail fast, fail cheap" do not fit well with the 

basic need of control of the people involved. 

When people lack the feeling of being in 

control of their environment, they can fall into 

stress or depression and develop diseases. The 

WHO lists the following organizational risk factors 

amongst others: Degree of involvement in 

decision making, employee recognition, decision-making 

autonomy and relationships. 

The infographic below shows the four most 

important rules for startup communication, 

which were compiled from the insights of many 

successful leaders of startups and when you 

check them, you will see that they are in line 

with the WHO findings. 

Building a communication culture for startups 

should be an active process rather then happening 

by chance. According to forbes the average return on 

collaboration is four times 

the initial investment. Consultants 

associated with the 

ExpertsGroup Business- 

Mediation of the Austrian 

Chamber of Commerce (EG 

WiMe der WKO) have different 

backgrounds – there 

Ing. Leon Pogrzebacz, MSc. 

EGWIME 

you will find the right expert for your situation. 

For further free information register on 

www.zankapfel2016.at for the Business-Mediation-Day 

on April 27th 3 p.m. at WKO. 

Foto: privat 


Austria Wirtschaftsservice 

Alternative 

financing 

for 

innovative 

entrepreneurship 

Access to funding is a key driver in the creation, survival and growth of innovative new ventures. 

These typically technology-focused startups are expected to generate a significant boost for the economy 

in terms of growth, employment and competitiveness. In Austria, outside capital is still the primary 

method of funding, given the country's Mittelstand structure and large share of small and medium 

enterprises (SMEs). Bank loans apart, the market for alternative funding options is rather small, 

especially when compared to countries such as the United States. Yet, young and innovative ventures 

are rarely able to obtain a bank loan, given their lack of securities and the strict equity regulations. 

Accordingly, venture capital is the chief source 

of funding for innovative startups that have a 

high growth potential. Private investors invest 

their own money in a business while institutional 

investors, in managing the (previously collected) 

money of a fund, act as intermediaries. Based on 

a due diligence procedure, venture capital (VC) funds 

and business angels provide capital (frequently combined 

with know-how) to promising new ventures, in 

return for a stake in the business. VC funds invest for 

a specified term (up to ten years) and then sell their 

stake at a profit. 

Business angels, on the other hand, are a new phenomenon 

that is playing an increasingly important 

role on the market. They concentrate on the early stages, 

the start-up and seed phases of a firm, when there 

is relatively little need for capital and when VC funds 

are not yet interested enough to take a stake. In addition 

to providing funding, business angels contribute 

the requisite sectoral know-how, experience, credibility, 

contacts and networking. 

Austria understands the importance of venture 

capital in adding dynamism and innovative power to 

its economy. On behalf of the Austrian Federal Government, 

Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws) has developed 

a wide variety of measures to stimulate the Austrian 

venture capital market. aws supplies the venture 

capital necessary to foster the founding and growth 

of innovative projects and arranges contacts between 

startups and investors. Its purpose is to extend the offer 

of alternative funding options and improve access 

to them: 



Foto: aws, Ludwig Rusch 

Mag. a Edeltraud Stiftinger 

Managing Director austria wirtschaftsservice 

aws Founder Fund 

The aws Founder Fund is Austria's leading venture 

capital fund. It acts as a co-investor by taking a stake 

in startups with a high growth potential during their 

founding and initial growth phases and continues as 

a long-term partner by providing knock-on and follow-up 

financing. 

aws Business Angel Fund 

The aws Business Angel Fund is the result of a joint 

initiative taken by the European Investment Fund 

EIF and aws, the latter acting on behalf of the Federal 

Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and 

the Federal Ministry of Finances. Endowed with 

€ 22.5m, the Fund doubles the investment volume of 

experienced, independent business angels, thereby 

achieving a total financing volume of up to € 45m. 

Since its establishment, the Fund has entered into 

co-financing agreements with business angels for a 

total volume of € 12m. 

Venture Capital Initiative 

With its Venture Capital Initiative aws aims to stimulate 

the local market for early phase funding and provide 

incentives for international investors to commit 

to Austrian businesses. The Initiative helps mobilise 

private venture capital to finance the startup and 

growth phases of new research- and technologyfocused 

firms by co-investing in them together with 

venture capital investors. Its funds are furnished by 

the National Foundation for Research, Technology 

and Development. 

aws Equity Finder 

aws Equity Finder is the foremost Austrian platform for 

presenting and contacting startups and SMEs in search 

of networking with alternative investors. It offers a direct 

path to crowd funding and crowd investment platforms, 

business angels, early-stage and founder funds, 

and venture capital firms. For potential investors, the 

aws Equity Finder provides quick and free access to 

innovative ideas and firms without any preselection. 

At present, some 650 firms and 380 investors are registered 

with this platform. 

aws i2 Business Angels 

Austria's only independent, nation-wide network of business 

angels, aws i2 Business Angels has been running a 

national angels matching service since 1997, acting as a 

meet-and-match platform for business angels and startups/established 

SMEs in search of equity capital. 

Business angels participating in the scheme can 

draw on the services of a highly specialised aws team 

that offers independent, customised analyses and 

preselections in terms of technology, proprietary rights 

and commercial prospects. 

To businesses in search of equity capital aws supplies 

professional, sound and clearly structured access 

to an exclusive circle of business angels. Austrian angel 

investors furnish equity as well as the all-important 

entrepreneurial know-how and contacts. 

Every year i2 receives some 500 enquiries from 

ventures in search of equity, and their requests are 

processed and developed for the 250 business angels 

participating in the network. 


Institute of Science and Technology Austria 

IST Austria 

Committed to pursue 

excellent science 

The Institute of Science and Technology Austria 

(IST Austria) is an international, PhD-granting, 

interdisciplinary research institution dedicated 

to cutting-edge basic research in the life, physical, 

mathematical, and computer sciences. 

IST Austria was established by the federal government 

of Austria and the state government of Lower Austria 

and was inaugurated in 2009. Following the implementation 

of the ambitious development plan, about 

90 research groups will be working in a highly modern 

environment by 2026, modeled after international examples 

such as the Max Planck institutes, ETH Zurich, 

and the Weizmann Institute of Science. 

Committed to pursue excellent science 

The scientists are organized into independent research 

groups, each headed by a Professor or a tenure-track 

Assistant Professor. The Institute chooses which fields 

of science to enter based solely on the availability of 

outstanding individuals. It will pursue a direction of 

research only if it can compete with the best in the 

world. The Institute is evaluated regularly by leading 

international scientists and science administrators. 

Research excellence and promise are the exclusive 

hiring criteria for all scientists at IST Austria—from 

doctoral students to professors. The graduate school 

at IST Austria educates doctoral students from around 

the world to become research scientists. The decision 

to promote an Assistant Professor to Professor with a 

permanent contract is based entirely on an evaluation 

by international experts of the scientific achievements 

of the Assistant Professor. 

IST Austria fosters an interdisciplinary scientific 

atmosphere: The Institute offers one PhD program with 

courses for graduate students in all fields of the natural 

and formal sciences. Hierarchical and separating 

organizational structures, such as departments, are 

avoided. Employees currently come from more than 

50 nations. 

First President of the Institute is Thomas A. 

Henzinger, a computer scientist and former professor of 



Foto: Lisa Cichocki 

Foto: Reiner Riedler 

Institute of Science and Technology 

the University of California at Berkeley and the EPFL 

in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is supported by Vice President 

Michael Sixt, who oversees the operation of the 

scientific service units. The administration of IST Austria 

is led by Managing Director Georg Schneider. 

More information on IST Austria can be found at 

www.ist.ac.at, where you can also sign up for the Institute's 

quarterly newsletter. 

Bridging science and industry – 

Tech Transfer & Tech Park 

Under the umbrella of TWIST, IST Austria has launched 

a series of initiatives to support IST researchers 

interested in developing their ideas towards commercialization. 

We facilitate the exchange with industry, 

support young entrepreneurs, and help students and 

postdocs make informed career decisions. While we 

recognize the long-term nature of technology transfer 

activities, now is the time to implement appropriate policies 

and foster an innovative culture on campus. 

IST Austria's IP policies are clear: all intellectual 

property from inventions of our scientists rests with 

IST Austria and is actively developed in a cooperative 

way between the inventors and the Institute, for the benefit 

of both. 

We support the exchange with industry; companies 

we brought to campus include Amazon, Airbus, Bosch, or 

TTTech. In order to provide the resources to develop promising 

ideas for commercialization, IST Austria has introduced 

the TWIST Fellowship program, which allows 

its scientists to dedicate time to translational research. 

IST Austria supports the development of IST Park, 

a science and technology park for research-intensive 

enterprises, adjacent to campus, through a joint venture 

with Ecoplus, the business development agency of 

Lower Austria. 


Novomatic 

Innovative 

Technology 

Made in 

Austria 

Foto: Novomatic 

Growing success 

The NOVOMATIC Group is one of 

the biggest producers and operators 

of gaming technologies. 

With a turnover of more than Euro 

3.9 billion in 2015 NOVOMATIC 

group ranks among the largest gaming 

technology groups worldwide. 

Founded by entrepreneur Prof. Johann 

F. Graf, the Group has locations 

in 50 countries and exports 

high-tech electronic gaming equipment 

to 80 countries. NOVOMATIC 

operates over 235,000 gaming machines 

in more than 1,600 Group 

operations such as casinos and 

electronic casinos and via rental 

concepts. The company offers its 

products and operations only in 

well regulated markets with precise 

regulatory frameworks. 

NOVOMATIC's strong 

casino-related competencies 

The NOVOMATIC Group's activities 

in the area of casinos (i.e. gaming facilities 

in which not only electronic 

games, but also live games such as 

roulette with a croupier or card and 

dice games are offered) include the 

operation of establishments ranging 

from the highest-revenue casino 

in Germany (Spielbank Berlin) to 

one of the most profitable casinos 

in Switzerland. With ACE Casino 

Holding AG as part of NOVOMATIC, 

the Group also owns the casino Group 

with the highest revenues in Switzerland: 

the three casinos in Mendrisio, 

Locarno and Bad Ragaz, which 

have been operated by NOVOMATIC 

since 2003, not only achieve the 

highest gross gaming revenues 

among all operators, but also pay the 

highest taxes to the individual cantons. 

NOVOMATIC continues to 

strength en its casino competences 

considerably. During the past years, 

the Group acquired the Casino 

ADMIRAL Gibraltar as well as the 

Casino FlaminGO in Macedonia. 

Among others the NOVOMATIC 

Group also runs comprehensive casino 

offerings with live games in the 

Czech Republic. The flagship is the 

Casino ADMIRAL Colosseum in Hatě. 

Harald Neumann, CEO 

"Employees are our company's 

most valuable asset. NOVOMATIC 

owes its high degree of innovation 

and success to the interaction and 

innovative strength of our 

individual employees." 

Foto: Novomatic 



Foto: shm 

Winning 

Technology 

INNOVATIVE R&D, 

MADE IN AUSTRIA 

The three-time Formula-1 World 

Champion Niki Lauda is the brand 

ambassador for NOVOMATIC. “I 

am very pleased that NOVOMATIC 

chose me for their brand ambassador. 

It is no coincidence that the 

words ‘Winning Technology' are 

right next to the company logo on 

the cap. NOVOMATIC is a leading 

international Group that has grown 

from its base in Austria to become a 

global player.” 

Group operations worldwide 

The Group subsidiary ADMIRAL 

Sportwetten GmbH is the largest 

sportsbetting provider in Austria 

with 243 sportsbetting outlets. 

Greentube Internet Entertainment 

Solutions GmbH, another 

Group subsidiary, is the leading 

full service provider in the online 

gaming and entertainment 

market segment and a pioneer in 

the development and provision 

of state-of-the-art gaming solutions. 

In addition to the headquarters 

in Gumpoldskirchen, 

Lower Austria, the Group holds 

production facilities and research 

and development centres in Germany, 

Great Britain, the Czech 

Republic, Hungary and Poland. 

NOVOMATIC employs about 

24,000 staff worldwide and about 

3,300 employees in Austria. 

Leadership through Innovation 

The heart of NOVOMATIC‘s success 

story has always been the 

Group‘s unique innovative force. 

That is why the Research & Development 

department has a prominent 

position within the Group. 

Competitive advantages such as 

the duality as both producer and 

operator as well as the international 

Group network of R&D competence 

centres are constantly extended. 

NOVOMATIC focuses on 

promising technologies such as 

server-based / downloadable gaming 

as well as online, social and 

mobile gaming. 

21 technology centers 

in 13 countries deal mainly 

with software development 

and programming. 

NOVOMATIC also fosters close 

cooperation with leading technical 

universities in these 

countries. This strategy pays 

off across the whole Group: 

NOVOMATIC currently has more 

than 3,600 intellectual property 

rights, such as patents, registered 

trademarks and designs. This 

makes the Group well equipped 

for the future. 

Consistent investments in research 

and development, an eagerness 

to do pioneer work, a keen 

sense of trends and a total commitment 

to quality have made 

NOVOMATIC Group a major player 

of the international gaming industry. 

RESPONSIBLE GAMING 

Increasingly important, next to creative 

gaming ideas and technological 

innovations in operations, is also 

the basic concept of responsible 

gaming. NOVOMATIC has developed 

one of the most modern concepts 

for the prevention of pathological 

gaming in Europe and is proud of 

having developed and implemented 

a unique and innovative access control 

system for gaming operations 

that guarantees maximum protection 

of minors and pathological 

gamblers. 

www.novomatic.com/ 

responsible-gaming 


PIONEERING TRENDS 

start here. 

Gaming innovation starts here. 

As one of the leading gaming technology companies in the 

world we owe our success to our more than 24,000 employees. 

The basis for this is their multicultural diversity, rigorous training and 

their interlinked know-how. By this we encourage great careers as 

well as innovative technologies – at the location of our headquarters 

in Austria as well as in more than 50 other countries. 

For more information, please visit www.novomatic.com

Michael Leitner 

Chief Sommelier 

CÉ LA VI 

Ambassador 

of Austrian Hospitality in Asia 

CÉ LA VI’s wine list is curated by Chief Sommelier 

Michael Leitner. Austrian-born and 

bred, Michael was the Head Sommelier and 

Assistant Maitre d’Hotel for leading 5-star 

Dromoland Castle Hotel in Shannon, Ireland. 

Michael was also previously the Chef De Rang on 

board luxury cruise line Seabourn Cruise Line. 

In Singapore, Michael served as Head Sommelier 

and Assistant Restaurant Manager for L’Atelier de 

Joel Robuchon Restaurant, before joining the CÉ 

LA VI to oversee the illustrious wine programme. 

While trained in traditional sommelier methodology, 

Michael strongly believes that guests should 

be allowed to experience their personal choices 

despite the popular rule of thumb when it comes 

to wine pairing. Inspired by his Austrian roots, 

Michael breaks from conventional to curate an 

approachable yet exceptional wine list where the 

sommelier team can serve to educate wine enthusiasts 

and offer diners to a gratifying vinous journey. 

Guests are able to broaden their palates starting 

from excellence in quality of house pours, 

sampling world-class Austrian wines from Tement 

in Styria to New Zealand’s Astrolabe wines 

from Marlborough as part of the repertoire. The 

globe-spanning wine list includes an extensive 

two-page selection of saké, encompassing bottles 

from various parts from North to South Japan 

and is designed to educate in the complexities of 

saké. Elevating the wine programme to a new level, 

CÉ LA VI has also teamed up with Astrolabe 

from New Zealand to produce a special CÉ LA 

VI Edition of their range of Sauvignon Blancs, as 

well as Tamanohikari from Kyoto for a specially 

brewed for CÉ LA VI version of Junmai Daiginjo 

Yamadanishiki saké. 

CE’ LA VI aims to create unique experiences that 

stimulate the senses, elevate the spirit, amplify passion 

and fuel the Pursuit of Pleasure from the captivating 

heights of the iconic Marina Bay Sands’ 57th level. 

UNIQUELY INSPIRED. MASTERFULLY CONCEIVED. 

DRAMATICALLY PREPARED. ARTISTICALLY 

PRESENTED. CÉ LA VI presents the tantalising new frontier of the 

Modern Asian philosophy. Creating drama and inspired moments out of 

culinary, mixology, music, culture and spectacular surroundings, CÉ LA 

VI is a legendary name in top-end international lifestyle dining and entertainment, 

a world-class brand orchestrated with masterful precision 

and finesse, and time-honoured Asian hospitality.

ELK BUILDING SYSTEMS. 

WE CREATE SPACE. 

➤ STUDENT HOUSING 

➤ EDUCATIONAL BUILDINGS 

➤ RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS 

➤ COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS 

➤ HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS 

Primary School “Simon Balle“ 

[Hertford, UK] 

Floor space: 2.280 m 2 

Mixed urban site “Garden Road“ 

[London, UK] 


Office Building "Synthesa“ 

[Perg, A] 


Hotel "Keller“ 

[Gumpoldskirchen, A] 

Floor space: 970 m 2 

Student Apartments “Thames Street“ 

[Oxford, UK] 


www.elkbuildingsystems.com

Elk 


ELK BUILDING SYSTEMS 

Experienced _ Efficient _ Flexible 

FAIRHOTEL In Austria ELK realised a 3-storey hotel as a 

Passive House, with 32 rooms and 1.600 m2 floor space. 

ELK has two large manufacturing 

facilities for timber walls, one lag cabin 

factory as well as one factory for 

windows and doors. 

STUDENT APARTMENTS “CHAPEL STREET” 

In Oxford, UK, ELK built two 4-storey buildings with 

190 student apartments and 6.000 m2 floor space. 

ELK Building Systems GmbH 

Wiedner Hauptstraße 120-124 

A-1050 Wien 

T: +43 (0)2853/705 723 

info@elkbuildingsystems.com 

www.elkbuildingsystems.com 

ELK is one of the largest manufacturers 

of timber buildings 

in Europe with more 

than 70.000 made over the 

last 45 years. We offer a wide variety 

of building styles for commercial, 

residential and educational use. 

Working with ELK adds immediate 

sustainable and environmental 

building credentials to your 

project and simplifies the building 

process with integrated product 

solutions and a robust supply and 

delivery chain. Buildings are engineered 

to a very high quality and 

can be designed to suit different 

design layouts and can accommodate 

any external finish required. 

Smooth process 

Close cooperation with investors, 

developers, contractors and architects 

guarantees a smooth process 

from planning to manufacturing 

and through to assembling. 

Efficient 

Our unique manufacturing system 

allows us to provide buildings that 

are cost efficient as well as energy 

efficient. 

Experienced 

ELK has over 45 years of experience 

in the field of industrialised 

prefabricated construction, two 

large manufacturing facilities for 

timber walls, one log cabin factory 

as well as one factory for windows 

and doors. In 2014 ELK built 1,047 

units of houses at an average of 

4.65 houses per day, using 35,600 

cubic meters of wood. 

Rapid 

The very highest level of precision 

engineering and manufacturing 

enables minimal assembling time 

on the site. Using a totally dry construction 

method means no drying 

time is needed after construction, 

ELK buildings can be assembled 

all year round regardless of the 

weather. Every project is realised 

within a short time-frame, which 

guarantees a rapid return on investment 

(ROI). 


Monitoring systems 

for user-friendly short and long-term measurements 

HBM offers a complete solution for your measurement task. 

For choosing and installing the individual measurement technology components or for planning and starting up the measurement 

setup, including suitable training – HBM is your partner. 

Measurement signal conditioning with QuantumX 

Transducers 

■ Optical measuring chains 

■ Displacement, strain, crack width ■ Stand-alone data recording 

■ Oscillation, acceleration 

■ 

■ Temperature, humidity 

■ Can be used in stationary or mobile applications 

■ Analog current / voltage sensors 

■ Digital inputs / outputs 

■ Pulse counters 

■ Optical sensors 

Scalable as a group of devices, allows for flexible setup and works synchronously 

■ Offers high measurement quality by compensating for line lengths and interference 

frequencies as well as high EMC stability and cyclical auto-adjustment. 

Further information: 

www.hbm.com/civil-engineering 

HBM Test and Measurement ■ Tel. + 43 1 865 8441-0 ■ info@at.hbm.com ■ www.hbm.at

Digital Creativity 

improving SoCiety! 

EuropEan Youth award 

Europe’s unique competition for young people, social entrepreneurs 

and start-ups founders 

using digital technologies to to improve society! 

Apply now and promote your project on on a a pan-European stage! 

Win valuable knowledge, mentorship, project checks and and much more! 

Submission: October -- July July 

Jury: August -- September 

Winners Festival: 30 30 Nov Nov - - 33 Dec Dec 2016 2016 in in Graz, Graz, Austria Austria 

crEatiVE contEnt 

diGital 

diGital 

innoVation 

innoVation 

social EntrEprEnEurship 

social EntrEprEnEurship 

www.eu-youthaward.org 

www.eu-youthaward.org 

@eyagraz 

@eyagraz 

#EYA16 | facebook.com/EuropeanYouthAward 

#EYA16 | facebook.com/EuropeanYouthAward 


OBB 

OBB− 

Foto: ÖBB 

Infrastruktur: 

Im Jahresheft iconannual 2015 durfte ich Sie von unseren 

Plänen für den Ausbau von Österreichs Bahninfrastruktur 

und die positiven Auswirkungen dieser 

Bemühungen auf die Volkswirtschaft unseres Landes 

informieren. Als künftiges Highlight nannte ich vor einem 

Jahr an dieser Stelle den neuen Wiener Hauptbahnhof 

als Knotenpunkt der Mobilität von morgen. Heute 

können wir diese Zukunft bereits hautnah erleben: Der 

Hauptbahnhof der Bundeshauptstadt hat seinen Vollbetrieb 

aufgenommen. Neben der immensen wirtschaftlichen 

und verkehrspolitischen Bedeutung ist der Bahnhof 

auch das starke Herz eines neuen, hochmodernen 

Stadtteils. Und damit ein großer Schritt Wiens auf dem 

Weg zur Smart City 

Der neue Hauptbahnhof etabliert Wien noch stärker 

im Zentrum Europas. Er ist ein Durchgangspunkt, ein 

Knotenpunkt, der Wien in alle Himmelsrichtungen vernetzen 

wird. Und die Bahn schafft mit ihren Investitionen 

wertvolle Arbeitsplätze. Apropos Zentrum und Arbeitsplätze: 

was der Hauptbahnhof für die Fahrgäste, ist 

der Terminal Wien Süd mit seiner Inbetriebnahme Ende 

2016 für die verladende Wirtschaft. Er wird als zentrale 

Logistikdrehscheibe am Schnittpunkt von drei Güterverkehrskorridoren 

fungieren und damit der österreichische 

Einfüllpunkt für alle Güterverkehre auf der Südstrecke 

sein, welche entlang des Baltisch-Adriatischen 

Güterverkehrskorridors verlaufen. Wir dürfen hier aber 

gedanklich nicht an den Europäischen Grenzen halt 

machen, sondern müssen auch die internationalen (Waren-) 

Ströme im Blick behalten. Doch natürlich ist auch 

in Österreich am Bahnsektor viel in Bewegung geraten. 

Am Beispiel der Investitionen in den Ausbau der neuen 

Südstrecke lassen sich die volkswirtschaftlichen Effekte 

gut verdeutlichen: So löst eine Investition in Höhe von 

6 Milliarden Euro eine gesamte Wertschöpfung von 

15 Milliarden Euro aus (Barwert, Bauphase inkl. 30-jährige 

Betriebsphase). Alleine die steuerlichen Rückflüsse 

betragen 5,3 Milliarden Euro. In diesem Zeitraum werden 

auch 20.000 neue Arbeitsplätze geschaffen. Die 

Bahn ist eine der wichtigsten Wirtschaftslokomotiven 

Österreichs. Und zugleich ein wesentlicher Bestandteil 

unserer hohen Lebensqualität, die auch durch die internationale 

Vernetzung auf verschiedensten Ebenen jeden 

Tag aufs Neue entsteht und erarbeitet wird. 

Und auch Smart City bedeutet Vernetzung: Nämlich 

die der Verkehrsträger – die Zukunft gehört sowohl im 

Güter- als auch im Personenverkehr der Intermodalität. 

Das heißt für unsere Fahrgäste, Bahn, Auto, U-Bahn, 

Straßenbahn und Bus intelligent miteinander zu verbinden. 

Und dann auch noch andere Bereiche einzubeziehen, 

Bereiche wie Gastronomie, Hotels, Kulturangebote, 

Sportveranstaltungen – der Phantasie sind keine Grenzen 

gesetzt. Wir schaffen konzernübergreifend neue 

Plattformen auf Computern und auf Handys, erheben 



Auf dem Weg von 

der smarten City 

zur smarten Bahn 

Ing. 

Foto: Sabine Hauswirth 

Mag. (FH) Andreas Matthä 

Vorstandsdirektor ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG 

und liefern die Daten dafür und errichten die blitzschnellen 

Kommunikationsnetze auf den Bahnhöfen, 

in den Zügen und auf den Terminals. Wir wollen damit 

ein klares Symbol für die zukünftige Ausrichtung der 

Bahn setzen. Eine Smart City ist eine Stadt, die für alle 

Lebensvorstellungen, alle Lebensentwürfe Spielräume 

lässt, Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten eröffnet, eine Stadt, 

die sich wegbewegt von dem "Schneller, Höher Weiter" 

hin zu mehr Lebensqualität. Wir müssen unsere Infrastruktur 

näher zu den Leuten und zur verladenden 

Wirtschaft bringen und dafür sind einfach verfügbare, 

digitale Angebote ein absolutes Muss. Denn Bahn ist 

weit mehr als ein Schienennetz mit Zügen und Bahnhöfen 

– dahinter steht ein ganzes Netzwerk an Firmen, 

Industriebetrieben sowie kleinen und großen Unternehmen. 

Sie machen den Bahnverkehr mit ihren Dienstleistungen 

erst zu dem, was er ist: ein großes und funktionierendes 

Verkehrs- und Transportnetz für Menschen 

und Güter in Österreich. 

Und Bahn ist auch für die kostbare Umwelt weit 

mehr als ein Schienennetz mit Zügen und Bahnhöfen. 

Bahnfahren ist eine Investition in die Zukunft und Lebensqualität 

unserer Kinder. Wer mit der Bahn fährt, 

verursacht nur ein Zwölftel des Kohlendioxids eines 

Autos. Und ein Flugzeug erzeugt pro Person und Kilometer 

13 mal so viel Kohlendioxid wie die Bahn. Und im 

Gütertransport verursacht eine Fracht im Lkw 15 mal 

mehr Emissionen als in der Bahn. Mehr als 90 Prozent 

des Bahnstrombedarfs werden aus umweltfreundlicher 

Wasserkraft erzeugt. Und im abgelaufenen Jahr haben 

wir das weltweit erste Bahn-Solarkraftwerk im Burgenland 

eröffnet. 

Wie Sie sehen, ist die Bahn auf verschiedensten Wegen 

und in unterschiedlichsten Bereichen unterwegs in 

die Zukunft. Oft ist es nicht der leichteste Weg, den wir 

gehen – aber jedenfalls ein guter für unser Land und 

seine Wirtschaft – und natürlich für unsere Kunden. 

Für Sie. Wir wollen möglichst viele Menschen für die 

Bahn begeistern. Dafür investiert die ÖBB-Infrastruktur 

AG entsprechend auf Basis unseres Zielnetzes 

2025+ und entsprechend dem neuen Rahmenplan jährlich 

knapp 2,5 Mrd. Euro. Und das gelingt uns. Unsere 

Kunden schätzen all unsere Maßnahmen, denn die 

Kundenzufriedenheit steigt messbar. Die ÖBB sind also 

ein Wirtschaftsmotor und auch ein Unternehmen, das 

stetig forscht und Innovationen fördert und vom eher 

gemächlichen Beförderungsunternehmen zu einem 

topmodernen Dienstleister wird. Ein moderner Dienstleister, 

der die Wandlung Wiens zur Smart City unterstützt 

und vorantreibt. Ein moderner Dienstleister, der 

von der Nachfrage nach Vernetzung und Nachhaltigkeit 

in einer smarten Stadt aber auch profitiert – und 

so zur smarten Bahn wird, bereit für die kommenden 

Herausforderungen. 


SHOPPING FÄHRT EIN 

• 90 Shops 

• Mo – So: Länger shoppen bis 21.00 Uhr 

• Direkt an der U1 

• 2h gratis parken 

90 Shops in 

einem Zug genießen. 

Der neue Wiener Hauptbahnhof bietet mehr Service – nicht nur für Fahrgäste. 

Auf 20.000 m 2 ermöglichen 90 Shops, Gastronomiebetriebe, Bäckereien und Cafés 

Shoppingvergnügen und Reisen unter einem Rautendach.

OBB 


RAILPOWER 

BOX 

The energy metering system 

for the railway of the future. 

The Railpower box is the leading energy 

metering system in Europe and enables environmentally 

friendly Energy Management 

through clear, minute by minute calculation of 

locomotive electricity demand. The specially 

developed user interface, the railpower client, 

gives improved and faster called-up of information 

by the user. The railpower client is a web 

application that allows data collected from the 

railpower box to be readily visualized. 

OBB-Infrastruktur AG has developed the railpower 

box as an electrical energy metering system for 

traction vehicles that captures energy consumption 

per train and country in real-time. With the 

railpower box, energy and location data for international 

rail traffic is combined and stored in a central database. 

The recorded data is used for current electricity billing for 

trains both in Austria and in other countries, including 

payment settlement with other infrastructure operators. 

ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG makes this data available to other 

infrastructure managers based on international standards. 

In addition, the railpower box has been designed and 

configured for future development to meet all current and 

planned international guidelines, according to UIC Leaflet 

930, from CENELEC TCX9 WG11 to EN 50463. 

National requirements, such as the measurement 

and calibration act and the regulation of individual 

infrastructure operators, have also been taken into account 

with the railpower box. Moreover the railpower 

box is certified by a notified body and approved 

throughout Europe. 

Because transparency matters 

The railpower box enables transparency and cost savings 

compared to conventional flat rate billing, due to 

the fully automatic detection of the exact track electricity 

consumption by train and by country. The information 

is always available online via the internet through 

the railpower client user-interface application. Among 

other data, a representation of the load profile, and total 

consumption etc. is available. Furthermore, data can be 

downloaded in different formats and as a representation 

of spatial data via Google Earth. 

The capture of the actual consumption by each 

traction unit and by each country is enabled through 

GPS. Using the data gathered, energy evaluation and 

management decisions can be carried out. Billing payment, 

on the basis of logged data, is made in different 

countries, with return feed-in to the grid also being 

taken into account. Border crossings are recorded using 

GPS, allowing consumption to be allocated by 

country or region. Energy metering by means of the 

railpower box meets all international requirements. >> 


OBB 

The principle of remote 

meter reading 

Once the railpower box is installed 

on the locomotive, independent 

transmission of data (including spatial 

data) is conducted via GPRS to 

a server of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG. 

The data are read in 1-minute intervals 

in the Energy Data Warehouse 

(EDW) and allocated by country or 

region using GPS coordinates. Data 

is displayed in the EDW and the 

web portal for the railpower client 

user interface. 

Main components of the 

railpower box 

The railpower box consists of a 

combined antenna (GPS / GPRS), 

an intelligent modem, an EMH (AC) 

or LEM-meter (AC / DC), a DC / DC 

converter, and a GPS receiver. Power 

is supplied by 110 V or 24 V using 

the locomotive power supply. The 

standard unit dimensions are 500 x 

400 x 150 mm, but customized sizes 

may be possible on request. 

The built-in meter (LEM or 

EMH) records values every minute, 

in both directions, for drawn down 

(kWh+, kWh-) and feed-in power 

(kvarh+ kvarh-). The combination 

antenna (GPS) records values for 

location data (longitude, latitude, 

speed, frequency, LEM meter) at 

1-minute intervals. The modem and 

antenna combination (GPRS) save 

captured data and transmit them to 

a server of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG. 

Meter reading with the railpower 

box allows for substantial cost 

transparency compared with a replacement 

value calculation, due 

to the automated minute by minute 

collection and billing of energy demand 

in real time. 

As a result it forms the ideal 

basis for environmentally friendly 

energy management. Railway 

ÖBB RAILPOWER BOX 

transport and infrastructure companies, 

locomotive manufacturers, 

fleet managers and leasing companies 

across Europe have reacted 

very positively to the benefits of 

the railpower box. Current customers 

include: ÖBB-Personenverkehr 

AG, Rail Cargo Romania, Rail Cargo 

Austria, Rail Cargo Hungaria, 

BLS Cargo, CaptrainHV LE, Wiener 

Lokalbahnen Cargo, MAV TRAK- 

CIO, SLB, Westbahn, LTE, RTS, 

STLB. But also manufacturers and 

railway leasing companies are already 

equipted with the railpower 

box: Bombarider Transportation 

GmbH, Mitsui Rail Capital Europe, 

European Leasing Locomotive 

(ELL) as well as Siemens AG. 

A story of success 

throughout Europe 

• Transparent data availabale 

24/7 

• Rental or purchase options 

• Can be used on new or existing 

locomotives 

• Autonomous system – can be 

customised for specific needs 

• Exact country and minute by 

minute data 

• Includes service package with 

test box 

• Internet application in English, 

German and all Eastern European 

languages 


Schneller ankommen – und was 

mach’ma mit der gewonnenen Zeit? 

Ganz sicher nicht motzen! 

Die ÖBB bauen aus – Österreich wird schneller und umweltfreundlicher 

Investitionen in die Bahn bringen allen was: 6.500 Züge schonen täglich unsere Umwelt. Immer mehr 

Menschen – in ganz Österreich – nutzen die Vorteile der Bahn. Moderne Bahnhöfe und Strecken werden gebaut. 

130 km Hochleistungsstrecke sind seit 2012 fertiggestellt, damit Sie schneller ankommen. 

Hochleistungsstrecken 

Meilensteine Bahnhofsoffensive 

Auf in die Zukunft ! 

2012 

Wien – 

St. Pölten und 

Unterinntal 

2013 

Wels – 

Attnang 

Puchheim 

2014 

Salzburg, 

Attnang Puchheim, 

Wien Hauptbahnhof 

2015 

Graz; 

Vollinbetriebnahme 

Wien Hauptbahnhof 

2016 

Teileröffnung 

Güterzentrum 

Wien Süd 

2026 

Fertigstellung 

Neue 

Südstrecke 

Alle Infos unter oebb.at/zukunftbahn

Tina Vienna 

Smart City Agency 

Future cities 

and global cha 

In the future cities will be 

confronted increasingly with 

global challenges like climate 

change, a severe shortage of 

natural resources, urbanisation 

and demographic development, 

hence determining 

the design of cities as living 

spaces and the quality of life 

for their citizens. 

Taking these challenges into 

account, Smart City Wien was 

developed by the City of Vienna 

as a long-term initiative 

that looks at a cross-section of the 

city, covering all areas of life, work 

and leisure activities in equal measure, 

and includes everything from 

infrastructure, energy and mobility 

to all aspects of urban development. 

It defines the development of a city 

that assigns priority to, and interlinks, 

the issues of energy, mobility, 

buildings and infrastructure. The 

main goals of Smart City Wien are 

radical resource preservation, the 

development and productive use of 

innovations and new technologies 

along with a high and socially balanced 

quality of life. >> 

Fotos: tina vienna 



llenges 


Tina Vienna 

Smart City Wien Framework Strategy 

and new initiatives 

In order to make these goals legally binding, the Smart 

City Wien Framework strategy was adopted by the 

Vienna City Council in 2014 as a long-term umbrella 

strategy. The time horizon of the framework strategy 

extends to 2050 and focuses on necessary and often 

fundamental changes in the fields of energy, mobility 

or construction. The main objective is the best quality 

of life for all inhabitants of Vienna, while minimizing 

the consumption of resources. This will be realized 

through comprehensive innovations. 

The Smart City Wien Framework Strategy aims to 

reach this objective by implementing Vienna's urban 

sectorial strategies, reaching from the urban development 

concept, climate protection programme and 

urban energy efficiency programme to Vienna's mobility 

concept and urban space concept. In 2015, two 

new strategies – the "Digital Agenda" and "Innovative 

Vienna 2020" – were added. Digitalisation and innovation 

are the main target areas of these strategies, 

which underline the growing importance of ICT solutions 

and innovative approaches in a smart city. 

First steps towards implementation 

The implementation process of the framework strategy 

started recently with a wide range of trans-disciplinary 

and international research initiatives 

and implementation projects within the areas environment, 

transportation, social inclusion and 

ICT. Here, experts from universities, governmental 

institutions and urban development agencies work 

together in finding solutions for challenges like the 

use of renewable energy sources or the creation of 

an urban lab for sustainable mobility in new urban 

development districts. Within the ICT and innovation 

sector, new methods for a "smarter" and 

more innovative city administration are being developed; 

Vienna's approach was chosen among the 

most innovative strategies in Europe in the context 

of the "iCapital" award. Other achievements of the 

Smart City initiative cover new social housing programmes 

and resource-efficient renovation methods. 

In all these projects, despite the increasing use 

of advanced technology, the active participation 

and inclusion of Vienna's citizens in decision-making 

processes play a very important role. 

The outcomes of this implementation process – 

in terms of their contribution to the Smart City Wien 

Framework Strategy – are monitored by the City of Vienna 

within a pilot monitoring process that focuses 

on more than 50 indicators to measure the degree of 

achievement. From 2016 on, the Smart City Wien objectives 

will be monitored at a regular basis, in order to 

guarantee the successful implementation of the framework 

strategy. In addition, Smart City Wien seeks new 

partners for cooperation and collaboration on a European 

level and actively participates in transnational networks 

in order to exchange know-how with other cities. 

New projects in the 

Smart City Wien 

DigitalCity.Wien initiative 

The DigitalCity.Wien Initiative started in 2014 as an independent 

and non-profit initiative of the administration 

of Vienna & dedicated ICT companies located in 

Vienna with its aim, to raise public awareness in the 

importance of IT in Vienna and to foster Vienna's top 

position as a digital hotspot in Europe. 

Numerous ICT topics are addressed in accordance 

and coordination with the "Smart City Wien Framework 

Strategy of the City of Vienna". The aim is to take 

action against the shortage of skilled workers, to support 

digital competence and excellence, and particularly 

to inspire and promote women in IT professions. 

Other important objectives are an acute responsiveness 

to eruptive technology trends, and the strengthening 

of economic power in Vienna. An important feature of 

the initiative is its participatory approach – ideas and 

collaboration platforms form the basis of an active exchange 

between experts of research institutions and 

Viennese citizens. This gives rise to future Smart City 

Wien projects. 

Foto: Johannes Zinner 



Foto: Raimo Rudi Rumpler 

Vienna Main Station 

The Vienna Main Station project spanning over 109 hectares 

is currently one of the most important infrastructure 

projects in Vienna. The new main station is being 

constructed as a through station with twelve tracks and 

ten platforms. In the construction process all the recyclable 

material – especially concrete demolition and 

ballast – was prepared on the premises and reinstated. 

With the aid of geothermal and solar energy systems, 

Vienna Main Station generates 13 percent of its entire 

energy needs directly on site. Overall, ÖBB at Vienna 

Main Station covers 100 percent of its power requirements 

from renewable energy resources. 

Foto: Michael Appelt 

Additionally, an entirely new urban district is 

gradually emerging around the station on the 59-hectare 

former ÖBB site. Altogether, approximately 5,000 

apartments are being built to accommodate 13,000 residents, 

offices for 20,000 employees and space for hotels, 

shops, services and catering establishments 

eTaxi initiative 

In 2016, the implementation of the eTaxi project will start 

in Vienna; within the next two years 250 new electric vehicles 

will be used in the city. This project not only leads 

to an increased use of sustainable cars, but also offers new 

jobs for now unemployed taxi drivers and unemployed 

citizens looking to receive training for the job. 

In the first phase of the project, 10 charging stations 

will be installed in Vienna; in a second phase until 

2018 more charging points will be implemented. Within 

the first year the e-taxi drivers will receive electricity 

free of charge. 

All these projects – and these are just a few examples 

– support on implementing Smart City Wien strategies 

and processes. This will be the topic of the future 

in order to make Vienna fit for coming challenges and 

maintain the quality of life standards. 


Austrian Institute of Technology 

Stadte als Standorte fur 

Innovative 

Foto: krischanz.zeiller./AIT 

Entrepreneurship 

Die Smart City der Zukunft ist 

eine ökologisch nachhaltige 

und ressourcenschonende 

Stadt, die Vorteile für Gesellschaft 

und Wirtschaft bringt. Sie 

trägt durch gute Luftqualität, einen 

hohen Wohnkomfort bei geringen 

Energiekosten und ein hochwertiges 

Angebot an Mobilitätsdienstleistungen 

zu einer höheren Lebensqualität 

der städtischen Bevölkerung bei. 

Darüber hinaus steigert das innovative 

Umfeld einer Smart City die 

Attraktivität der Stadt als Standort 

für Wirtschaft und Forschung und 

schafft somit hochqualifizierte Arbeitsplätze. 

Aufgabe der österreichischen 

Forschung ist es vor diesem 

Hintergrund, Know-how für Smart 

Cities zu generieren, um den österreichischen 

Städten und Unternehmen 

einen klaren Innovationsvorsprung 

und Wettbewerbsvorteil auf 

diesem zukunftsträchtigen Markt 

zu schaffen. 

Städte als Wirtschaftsmotoren 

Städte beherbergen schon jetzt mehr 

als die Hälfte der Weltbevölkerung, 

konsumieren rund zwei Drittel 

der Gesamtenergie und verantworten 

damit auch einen Großteil des 

CO 2 

-Ausstoßes. Neben diesen demografischen 

und ökologischen 

Aspekten übernehmen Städte aber 

auch eine wichtige wirtschaftliche 

Rolle: Sie fungieren als Motoren der 

Wirtschaft, des Wissens und der Innovation 

für gesamte Regionen und 

Länder. Im globalen Standortwettbewerb 

werden daher massive Investitionen 

in Forschung, Entwicklung 

und Bildung notwendig sein, um 

in Städten ein innovatives Umfeld 

Mag. DI Dr. Brigitte Bach, MSc 

Head of Energy Department 

Austrian Institute of Technology 

Foto: Johannes Zinner/AIT 




zu schaffen, das für die Wirtschaft 

und hochqualifizierte 

Arbeitskräfte attraktiv ist. Forschungseinrichtungen 

wie das 

AIT haben die Aufgabe, diese 

Prozesse mit Szenarien, Monitoring, 

Modellierung und Simulation, 

Folgenabschätzung 

und Prototypenentwicklung 

entlang des gesamten Policy 

Cycle zu begleiten und wissenschaftlich 

zu unterstützen. 

Ökoinnovation, Smart 

Specialisation und 

Smart City Konzepte 

Ein möglicher Weg zur Standortsicherung 

ist die Umsetzung 

von Ökoinnovationen, 

also Investitionen in technologische 

Schlüsselbereiche zur 

CO 2 

-Reduktion. An erster Stelle 

stehen hier Energieeffizienz 

in Gebäuden und Industrie 

sowie die Steigerung des Anteils 

erneuerbarer Energie. Von 

innovativen Entwicklungen 

in diesen Bereichen erhofft man sich zudem positive 

Impulse für die Wirtschaft, so etwa die Erhöhung des 

Bruttoinlandsprodukts um 550 Millionen Euro und die 

Schaffung von rund 6.400 neuen Arbeitsplätzen in dieser 

Zukunftsbranche. 

Ein weiteres Lösungskonzept lautet „Smart Specialisation“. 

Wirtschaft, Forschung und Industrie arbeiten 

hier eng zusammen, um durch gezielte Entwicklungsprioritäten 

regionale Schlüsselbereiche zu stärken. 

Studien haben gezeigt, dass diese wirtschaftliche und 

technologische Spezialisierung die Produktivität und 

Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und somit auch das Wirtschaftswachstum 

von Regionen positiv beeinflusst. Die Stadt 

Wien geht mit ihrer Smart City Rahmenstrategie klar 

in diese Richtung, indem sie ökologische, soziale und 

ökonomische Dimensionen verbindet und eine klare 

Vision und Ziele für 2050 formuliert. Auf längere Sicht 

wird es notwendig sein, auf dieser Basis eine Marke zu 

entwickeln und damit 

internationale 

Sichtbarkeit und Vorbildwirkung 

zu erreichen. 

Dafür muss 

sich die Stadt selbst 

verstärkt als „Living 

Lab“ begreifen, in 

dem Lösungen für die 

Zukunft entwickelt 

und erprobt werden. 

Der Export des daraus 

entstehenden Knowhows 

trägt in der 

Folge dazu bei, den 

Wirtschaftsstandort 

längerfristig abzusichern. 

Solche Demonstratoren 

dienen 

darüber hinaus aber 

auch dafür, internationale 

Sichtbarkeit zu 

erreichen. Sie fungieren 

als Eintrittskarte 

für internationale 

Schlüsselkonsortien 

und schaffen für Infrastrukturbetreiber 

und Wirtschaft einen 

Wissensvorsprung, 

der wiederum zur 

Standortsicherung beiträgt. Das AIT fungiert als wissenschaftlicher 

Schlüsselpartner in europaweit sichtbaren 

Demonstratoren im Bereich Smart Cities. So zeichnet 

das AIT Energy Department für die Begleitforschung der 

Projekte „Smart City Demo Aspern“ und „Smarter Together“ 

verantwortlich. Ziel des letztgenannten europäischen 

Leuchtturmprojekts ist es, Wien neben Lyon und 

München zu einem Best Practice Beispiel für eine smarte 

und nachhaltige Stadt der Zukunft zu entwickeln. 



MA 23 _ Wirtschaft Arbeit und Statistik 

VIENNA 

the city for 

innovative start−ups 

Vienna is fertile ground for start-ups and young 

entrepreneurs wishing to make their ideas and 

projects come true. Not only does it boast the highest 

quality of life and ranks high where innovation 

is concerned, it is also the biggest university city 

in the German speaking world. In recent years people 

have increasingly been finding that Vienna is far more 

than a city of music but one of research, innovation and 

start-ups too. 

Why Vienna? 

Vibrant, inspiring and diverse as it is Vienna is quickly 

approaching the rank of other attractive start-up cities 

such as Berlin, New York and Copenhagen. Vienna came 

in sixth in a ranking of the TechCocktail "Top 10 Startup 

Cities 2015 – Where Entrepreneurs Want to Meet Up", 

an internet platform which assesses requests from the 

platform Startuptravels. 

"Vienna is a very big start-up hub for the Central European 

region", says TechCocktail in an effort to explain 

what draws entrepreneurs to Vienna: "With serial entrepreneurs, 

investors, and low-cost co-working spaces 

compared to the big startup hubs like London, Vienna 

has all the components start-ups are looking for." 

It then goes on to describe what entrepreneurs can 

expect from the city once they arrive: "Vienna has a 

very active start-up scene with competitions and events, 

and these events connect Eastern and Western European 

start-ups. One of the most important international 

events is the Pioneers Festival." 

The Vienna start-up ecosystem has been developing 

rapidly in recent years with the support of a variety of 

activities and initiatives. Start-ups have many different 

services at their disposal, including the Vienna Business 

Agency, the Vienna Economic Chamber 1 and AWS 2 

for business promotion. 

The city has now come up with a new strategy for 

research, technology and innovation. With "Innovative 

Vienna 2020" as its goal Vienna wants to be particularly 

attractive for researchers and business founders. Good 

business ideas are to become reality here. As it strives 

for excellence as an international start-up hub Vienna 

will create the ideal business environment for researchers 

and entrepreneurs and bring its culture of welcome 

to perfection. 

1 

gruenderservice.at 

2 

/www.awsg.at 



Idea turns business 

Initiatives, such as "Gründen 

in Wien" (founding in 

Vienna) offered by the Vienna Business Agency, as well 

as the rapid increase in the number of co-working spaces 

are good proof that the start-up scene in Vienna is 

indeed alive and vibrating. This pioneering spirit is actively 

supported by the Vienna Business Agency 3 . Initiatives 

and businesses are networked at all levels, they are 

provided with the necessary know-how and financial 

means, both nationally and internationally. The "Vienna 

Start-up Welcome Package" for one was established 

to help selected international businesses develop their 

business ideas in Vienna for a period of three months. 

Along with business promotions and affordable, flexible 

premises the Vienna Business Agency offers freeof-charge 

multilingual services for founders and young 

entrepreneurs wanting to implement their ideas for the 

long run. Individual consultancy, coaching on founding, 

financing and expansion, as well as specialised 

workshops are just some of the options available. 

Foto: Peter Burgstaller 

Start-ups are a driving force for innovation and 

value creation. The number of new businesses has been 

rising continuously for many years. More than three 

quarters of start-ups in Vienna are linked to technology 

and IT, and more than one fifth are located in creative 

industries. 

Vienna leads the way in eGovernment and also lays 

claim to a top position in IT. It has attracted plenty of 

know-how from different areas in recent years and 

boasts excellent training centres and an active scene 

that start-ups thrive on. "Digital City. Vienna" was initiated 

to network IT businesses and the Vienna City Administration 

4 , while "Virtual Campus Vienna – Where IT 

meets Smart City meets Start-up" offers comprehensive 

information for businesses and start-ups. 

Start-up hub 

Vienna 

Neu Marx in the 3 rd district 

is home to the Campus 

Vienna Biocenter, the Media 

Quarter Marx (MQM), 

the T-Center, the Marxbox 

and with its many additional 

projects has proved a 

perfect location for media, 

research, technology and 

creative industries. Furnished 

with affordable and flexible start-up offices provided 

by the Vienna Business Agency and the academic 

start-up service INITS 5 it has turned into one of the 

hotspots for start-ups in Vienna. 

Vienna is home to the Pioneers Festival, one of 

the biggest annual conferences for entrepreneurship 

and new technologies in all of Europe. Almost 700 

start-ups from across the globe apply for the Pioneers 

Award. 2,500 visitors, numerous sponsors and partners 

contribute to this one-of-a-kind event. 

Vienna is a young, growing and multicultural city 

with excellent training institutions and a high quality 

of life. According to Consulter Mercer Vienna regularly 

ranks first for quality of life – again in 2015. 

This mix of factors makes Vienna the perfect breeding 

ground for different branches of all sizes: for start-ups, 

small and medium sized businesses and large corporations. 

Foto: David Bohmann 

3 

wirtschaftsagentur.at 

4 

digitalcity.wien 

5 

www.inits.at 


Osterreichischer Stadtebund 

Growing cities 

flourishing 

Nowadays, cities and towns are undergoing new 

challenges, due to intense human action during 

the last decades. This has someplace lead to 

significant problems within urban structures, 

e.g. when it comes to historic city centres – especially 

in small and medium sized cities and towns in 

more rural areas. In some places one started to 

speak of "dying city centres". This clearly is a 

development that has to be dealt with, now. The 

core of the city is the very center of identification 

and the guarantor for future development. 

Outskirt shopping centres and sprawling human 

settlements threaten the function of these 

cities and smaller towns, that most of the time 

are the heart of a so-called urban region. 

On a recent Conference about Smart cities, 

Saskia Sassen, a well-known urban researcher quoted: 

"When do I know that I am in a city? Pure monofunctional 

technology parks cannot be a city, even 

if they consist of a vast agglomeration of highrising 

buildings." So, what we learn from that is, that not 

every agglomeration is a city and not every vibrant 

city has to be an agglomeration. Cities arose from the 

option of multi-interaction evolving in public spaces. 

These public spaces are the faces of urbanism, they 

are funcitioning as living-rooms for citizens and melting-pots 

of their life-styles. Still, one very dominating 

life-style is the car-orientation, that we all grew up 

with. Fortunately for denser urban areas, this trend 

is remarkably sinking – if people see alternatives and 

urban regions 

Cities are nearly everlasting icons of the human era. They are outliving 

trends and bear a great capacity for resilience. Cities are the 

ideal substrate for a continously changing social ecosystem, they 

have been shaped and transformed through centuries – but still 

stay their recognizable selfs. 

their benefits in them, the are willing to change their 

life-style and adept to their city. 

Today, cities are facing two recent challenges, that 

are on the edge of reshaping the functional organisation 

of cities: 

On the one hand on december 12 th 

the 21 st UN-Climate Conference in 

Paris successfully united (nearly all 

of) the worlds nations in an agreement 

for concerted efforts against 

climate change. 

On the other hand, the epic streams of 

refugees that marched through Europe 

seeking for shelter, agitated the political 

landscape of the European Union – 

sustainably… 

Both current events have a massive impact on urban 

areas. Cities are "hot spots" in both terms oft he 

word: 

• Weeks and weeks of more than 40 degrees Celsius 

during the summer of 2015 turned cities all over 

Europe into urban heat islands (UHI) 1 . Cities have 

to prepare for more of those days to come and develop 

strategies against urban heat effects. 

1 

Urban heat island (UHI) means a significant temperature difference between the urban zone and the surrounding rural areas. 



Pedestrian Zone Mariahilferstraße, 

Vienna 

Fotos: c.fuerthner/MA18 

• Since at least autumn 2015, refugees and asylum 

seekers are coming to Europe – most of the time 

turning to urban areas with the expectation, that 

there will be more options for their future, like better 

networks, more housing opportunities and – on 

long term – jobs. 

Both events already have and in the near future will 

intensify their impact on the cities development. And 

there are still the meanwhile seemingly "old" trends, 

cities already had to face like the demographic change 

and social challenges based on migration, changing 

lifestyles and the need for affordable housing in combination 

with a growing social gap; the spatial coordination 

and the (re-)organisation of growth in combination 

with conserving resources; energy change, 

land-consumption and a reform of land-policy. When 

it comes to smart cities and urban areas, new governance 

is a still unsolved issue. And last but not least, 

the planning instruments and financial ressources are 

often insufficient. 

The Urban Future Global Conference in Graz, in 

March 2016, showed the variety and possibility for a 

modern urban development for the sustainable cities 

of tomorrow. For the public, especially modern urban 

development projects like the Viennese Seestadt Aspern 

and the Smart City of Reininghaus in Graz represent 

recognisable Smart City acitivities. These are good 

examples to show, what the near future in our cities 

would look like. Furthermore, it is of great importance 

to provide an urban structure, where people can really 

Presentation of the Portal www.stadtregionen.at at the „Stadtregionstag“ 

(Urban Areas Day), Vienna 2015 

act smart. What we don't know yet is, where technology 

will become a really helpful asset when it comes to 

nowadays challenges. Technology is not automatically 

"smart" – it can only be used smart and help the city to 

involve the inhabitants into a sustainable urban development. 

Since 2015, the AACT has – togehter with strategic 

partners – adopted an Agenda for city center revitalisation, 

an Agenda for urban regions, and is member of a 

national working group for the re-organisation of public 

transportation in and around cities, because public 

transport is the connecting link in the "actual living 

areas" of people because of their interdependent relations 

between living, working, shopping, recovering, 

etc. The economic, cultural and social life does not respect 

boarders. The areas with the highest functional 

relations are so called "Stadtregionen" – the urban areas 

and their structural indicators and development have 

been made visible via the Portal www.stadtregionen.at. 

Last but not least, the AACT is strongly involved in 

Smart City-initiatives and projects. What is the common 

sense of all these actions? When it comes to urbanisation 

we all will have to adept our life-styles for good. 

Cities – and citizens as well – have always proofed to be 

adeptable. We will see, what the future "Smart Citizen" 

will be like. The city will always be there for everybody. 


European Brand Institute 

In Europa 

liegen noch 

viele Marken 

im Verborgenen 

Es ist kein Geheimnis, dass Marken von 

größerer Bedeutung sind, als das Produkt 

selbst, erklärt Gerhard Hrebicek, Präsident 

des European Brand Institute. Im 

Interview mit dem iconannual-Magazin 

spricht er über die Herausforderungen 

des Marken-Managements, ganz besondere 

Werte und den Einfluss von alternativen 

Finanzierungsformen. 

iconannual-Magazin: Marken genossen im vergangenen 

Jahrhundert das uneingeschränkte Vertrauen 

der Konsumenten und führten zu einer fast lebenslänglichen 

Treue ihrer Kunden. Herr Dr. Hrebicek, 

wo liegt im Vergleich dazu die Bedeutung einer 

Marke heute, im 21. Jahrhundert? 

Gerhard Hrebicek: In der Einstellung der Kunden 

und der Firmen hat sich viel verändert. Früher waren 

die grossen Markenartikelhersteller eigentlich einfache 

Industrieunternehmen, die in grosser Zahl ihre 

Produkte auf den Markt brachten und – so ganz nebenbei 

– diese auch noch vermarkteten. Diesen Marken 

vertraute der Konsument und daher kaufte er sie 

auch. Ich würde generell sagen, dass Marken heute 

vermutlich immer noch die wertvollsten, gleichzeitig 

aber auch die am wenigsten verstandenen immateriellen 

Vermögensgegenstände sind. Der Slogan: „People 

buy brands not products“ – gilt in der globalen Kommunikationsgesellschaft 

immer noch. Es hat sich also 

eines grundlegend geändert: Marken werden zwar als 

höchst wertvolle Güter des Wirtschaftslebens anerkannt, 

doch es ist kein Geheimnis, dass Marken heute 

von noch viel größerer Bedeutung sind als das Produkt 

selbst. 

Das geht so weit, dass die Bedeutung von Marken 

nicht nur bei Konsumenten oder den Firmeneigentümern 

steigt, sondern ebenso bei Investoren und bei 

Managern. Im Rahmen einer guten Markenführung 

und einer transparenten Verfolgung der Markenentwicklung, 

ebenso wie im Sinne einer guten Corporate 

Governance, müssen Marken und deren Beeinflussungsgrößen 

für die Aktionäre, das Management, die 

Gesellschaft, die Partner und die Mitarbeiter verfolgt, 

verstanden und gemanagt werden. Deshalb ist es ganz 



besonders wichtig, Marken und Patente immer wieder 

bewerten zu lassen. 

iconannual-Magazin: Wie agiert ein Manager heute 

wenn er Markenmanagement betreibt? 

Foto: Schedl/APA/European Brand Institute 

„ Der durchschnittliche 

Anteil des Markenwerts am 

Unternehmenswert bewegt 

sich bereits Richtung 60%.“ 

KR DI Dr. Gerhard Hrebicek 

Präsident European Brand Institute 

Foto: Gregor Titze 

Gerhard Hrebicek: Heute können bereits die komplexesten 

Technologien, aber auch Services, Menschen 

oder ganze Unternehmen zu Marken werden. Markenfamilien 

werden ständig größer. Deshalb ist Ihre Frage 

nicht so leicht zu beantworten. Die eigentlichen Fragen 

lauten vielmehr: Wie werden Marken aufgebaut, 

was macht Marken wertvoll, wie werden sie bewertet 

und inwiefern müssen sich bestehende Markenführungssysteme 

verändern? Dies gilt ebenso für nicht 

börsennotierte Unternehmen und Klein- und Mittelbetriebe, 

denen es durch die neuen Informationstechniken 

heute möglich ist, global aufzutreten und rasch 

signifikante Marktpositionen einzunehmen. 

Das Management einer Marke und deren Wert hat 

in der heutigen Wirtschaft eine besondere Bedeutung 

erreicht, da sich mit dem wirtschaftlichen Umfeld die 

Schwerpunkte des Managements verändert haben. 

Aus ökonomischer Sicht ist folgendes passiert: Die 

großen Unternehmen haben sich heute von einer produzierenden 

Industrie mit materiellen Vermögensgegenständen, 

zunehmend zu wissensbasierten Dienstleistungsunternehmen 

entwickelt, die hauptsächlich 

über immaterielle Vermögensgegenstände verfügen. 

Das wertorientierte Management sollte vor allem auf 

immaterielle Vermögensgegenstände – also auf die 

Marke – ausgerichtet sein. Der Trend in der Entwicklung 

der Werthaltigkeit von Vermögensgegenständen 

in Unternehmen heute geht weg von den materiellen 

und hin zu immateriellen Vermögensgegenständen. 

iconannual-Magazin: Wie bewertet man eine Marke 

am besten aus Ihrer Sicht und ab wann wird eine 

Marke eigentlich relevant für die Firmenbilanz? 

Gerhard Hrebicek: Es ist Ihnen sicherlich aufgefallen, 

dass Marken in den vergangenen Jahren immer 

stärker dazu tendierten, Emotionen und Gefühle zu 

vermitteln. Das hat man ja auch sehr gut in Werbespots 

verpacken können. Also zum Beispiel hat ein schnittiger 

Wagen, wie ein „Mercedes“ mit dem Slogan „Das 

Beste kennt keine Alternative“ ein Lebensgefühl vermittelt. 

Hingegen hat ein Getränk wie „Red Bull“ dem 

Konsumenten „Flügel verliehen“, oder besser: es wurde 

mit einem Mal zu einem Kultgetränk. Und so kam 

es dazu, dass die meisten Marken plötzlich nur >> 



erfolgreich sein konnten, wenn 

sie bei den Konsumenten starke 

Gefühle vermittelten. Bekannte 

Marken können in der Folge zu 

einem positiven Firmenimage 

verhelfen und aber auch die Corporate 

Identity stärken und positiv 

beeinflussen. Das geht dann 

so weit, dass wertorientierte Unternehmensstrukturen, 

in denen 

die Marke in eine eigene Gesellschaft 

ausgelagert, dann noch 

an die Betriebsführung lizenziert 

wird – um damit einerseits 

den Wert der Marke besser zu 

sichern und andererseits Werte 

für das Unternehmen zu schaffen, 

die man ohne diese Strukturen 

nicht schaffen könnte 

– sowohl für das Management, 

die Eigentümer, aber auch für Kapitalgebende Banken 

von Vorteil sein können. 

Als immaterieller Vermögensgegenstand wird der 

Wert der Marke immer eine der wichtigsten bilanzrelevanten 

Kennziffern bleiben. Informationen darüber 

werden auch für potentielle Kapitalgeber immer von 

zentraler Bedeutung sein. 

iconannual-Magazin: Wo bewegt sich eine Marke 

am Kapitalmarkt und wo liegt – aus finanzorientirter 

Sicht – der Wettbewerbsvorteil von Markenunternehmen? 

Gerhard Hrebicek: Von Unternehmen erwarten sich 

die aktiv am Kapitalmarkt Beteiligten zunehmend 

nicht nur eine finanzorientierte und auf „hard facts“ 

basierende Informationsgestaltung, sondern vor allem 

eine stärkere Integration der „soft facts“, um die Effizienz 

und Abläufe der unternehmerischen Entscheidungsstruktur 

nachvollziehen zu können. Investoren 

erkennen einerseits zunehmend die Vorteile einer 

starken Marke: also erhöhte Rentabilität und niedrigeres 

Risiko. Andererseits sind sie sich der Tatsache 

bewusst, dass der Wert der Marke oftmals einen Großteil 

des gesamten Unternehmenswertes, laut unseren 

Studien im Durchschnitt um die 40 Prozent aller Unternehmen, 

Tendenz Richtung 60 Prozent steigend, 

darstellt. Der Wettbewerbsvorteil der Marke aus wertorientierter 

Sicht des Unternehmens liegt eindeutig 

in der Beschleunigung und der geringeren Volatilität 


der zukünftigen Cashflows. Aus 

Sicht der Kunden beruht der 

Wettbewerbsvorteil der Marke 

vor allem auf Reputation und 

Image. Diese Einstellung ermöglicht 

die positive Entwicklung 

der zukünftigen Cashflows für 

das Unternehmen und schafft 

Werte für alle Beteiligten. 

iconannual-Magazin: Auf welche 

Methoden greifen Experten, 

wie Sie einer sind, derzeit 

bei der Bewertung von Marken 

zurück? 

Gerhard Hrebicek: Es gibt eigentlich 

zwei wesentliche Methoden 

auf die wir immer wieder 

zurückgreifen, die sind: zum 

einen, die finanzwirtschaftliche Betrachtungsweise, 

nach der ein Markenwert als Barwert aller zukünftigen 

Einzahlungsüberschüsse, die der Eigentümer 

aus der Marke erwirtschaften kann, festgelegt wird. 

Weiters gibt es noch die verhaltenswissenschaftliche 

Betrachtungsweise, die sich von der betrieblichen 

Betrachtung löst und Konsumentenurteile in den 

Mittelpunkt stellt. Nur so können längerfristig zum 

einen die Effektivität und weiters die Effizienz von 

Marketingmaßnahmen aber auch die Markensteuerung 

verbessert werden. Die verhaltenswissenschaftliche 

Sichtweise widmet sich verstärkt der Messung 

der Markenstärke, wobei zum Teil nur Einzelaspekte 

betrachtet und relativ bewertet werden, so dass eine 

Monetarisierung des Markenwertes nicht im Vordergrund 

steht. Das hat zum Nachteil, dass die verhaltenswissenschaftliche 

Operationalisierung des Markenwertes 

nur eine mangelhafte Verknüpfung der 

resultierenden Ergebnisse mit einem ökonomischen 

Wert liefert. 

Abgebildet in den Normenwerken ISO 10668 

„Brand Valuation – Requirements for monetary 

brand valuation“ und der ÖNORM 6800 „Markenbewertung“, 

die von mir entwickelt wurden, sind 

Marken unter Einbeziehung von den drei wesentlichen 

Bereichen zu bewerten. Es handelt sich dabei 

um finanzielle, verhaltenswissenschaftliche und 

letztendlich auch noch rechtliche Aspekte. Um eine 

Marke zu bewerten, müssen gewisse Grundsätze beachtet 

werden. Dazu zählen: 




• die Berücksichtigung des Bewertungsanlasses 

(Verkauf, Merger, Lizenz, Managementbewertung, 

Bank, etc.) 

• die Berücksichtigung des Markenschutzes und 

des aktuellen Markenstatus 

• die Berücksichtigung der Markenart und 

Markenfunktion 

• die Berücksichtigung der wirtschaftlichen 

Lebensdauer der Marke 

• die Isolierung von markenspezifischen 

Einzahlungsüberschüssen 

• die Berücksichtigung von markenspezifischen 

Risiken 

• die Berücksichtigung eines ertragswertorientierten 

Verfahrens 

Der Markenwert macht oftmals einen Großteil des gesamten 

Unternehmenswertes aus und wird aus diesem 

Grund als operative Management-Größe an Bedeutung 

gewinnen. Diese Größe wird in herkömmlichen Unternehmensbewertungen 

nicht berücksichtigt. Deswegen 

ist es sinnvoll, den Markenwert intern zu verfolgen. Periodische 

Markenbewertungen ermöglichen es, einen „Return 

on Brand Investment“ zu ermitteln und in weiterer 

Folge die Effizienz des Marketings sichtbar zu machen. 

Danach sieht man sich den Effekt der Marke beim Kunden 

an und die finanziellen Auswirkungen einer Marke 

für das Unternehmen. Die meisten dieser Markenbewertungsverfahren 

werden zum überwiegenden Teil in der 

bilanziellen Bewertung im Zuge von Käufen oder Verkäufen 

einzelner Marken oder des Unternehmens eingesetzt. 

iconannual-Magazin: Wo liegt denn das große Potential 

für Marken hier in Europa? 

Gerhard Hrebicek: Wir haben in unseren europäischen 

Studien gesehen, dass Europa im internationalen 

Vergleich gegenüber Amerika und China in den 

Markenwerten zurückfällt. Doch durch das Aufladen 

von „Heritage Brands“ und mit relativ geringen Investitionen 

in bestehende Marken, die in Europa vor allem 

durch viele Klein- und Mittelbetriebe vorhanden 

sind, hätten wir hier ein immenses Marken-Potential. 

Wie wir ebenfalls in unseren Studien feststellen, 

haben wir in Europa zwar doppelt so viele Marken wie 

die Amerikaner, doch sind die europäischen Marken 

im Schnitt nur die Hälfte Wert. Das bedeutet, wir >> 



haben hier mit den vielen europäischen 

Marken ein großes Potential. 

Vor allem bedeutet es, dass wir danach 

trachten sollten, die Marken 

der Klein-und Mittelbetriebe, also 

jene der kleinen Markenunternehmen 

mit zukunftsorientierten Investitionen, 

in ihrem Wert zu steigern. 

iconannual-Magazin: Wie kommen 

wir zu „großen“ und wertvollen 

europäischen Marken? 

An new ISO Standard on Brand 

Evaluation will be developed 

In September 2014, a new ISO committee on 

Brand Evaluation was constituted in Bejing. 

Foto: CCBD 

Gerhard Hrebicek: Die Zukunft 

Europas hängt in meinen Augen 

am geistigen Eigentum und hier 

besonders an den vielen starken 

und wertvollen Marken, die wir 

noch viel besser vermarkten müssten. 

Europa ist bei den Ausgaben in 

Bildung, Forschung und Entwicklung 

führend. Die wichtigste strategische 

Massnahme zum Schutz 

von Innovationen vor der Nutzung 

durch Wettbewerber ist einerseits 

der zeitliche Vorsprung. Daraus 

entstünde genügend Know How 

das in „intellectual assets“ wie Innovationen, 

Patente und vor allem 

Marken übergeführt werden kann. 

Ein zeitlicher Vorsprung spielt vor 

allem bei Produktinnovatoren mit 

Marktneuheiten eine große Rolle. 

Ein zweiters strategisches Instrument 

ist die Geheimhaltung. Sie 

erlaubt den Ausschluss Dritter, von 

im Unternehmen entwickeltem, 

innovationsrelevantem Wissen. In 

einzelnen europäischen Ländern, 

wie Finnland, Schweiz, Luxemburg, 

Schweden, Dänemark und 

auch Österreich leisten Unternehmen 

die höchsten Marken-Beiträge 

zur jeweiligen Volkswirtschaft und 

sind damit auch weltweite Spitzenreiter 

im Verhältnis Markenwerte 

zum Bruttonationalprodukt. Dieser 

Weg könnte und sollte auch auf Gesamteuropa 

übertragen werden. 

Within this committee a new global 

standard on brand evaluation will 

be developed, where the President 

of European Brand Institute, Dr. 

Gerhard Hrebicek holds the Chair. 

Goals of this new ISO 

Initiative are as follows: 

This standard is aimed to standardize 

the technical requirements and 

evaluation methods in the implementation 

of major components of 

brand valuation, which will guide 

the brand manager and brand evaluators 

to conduct activities in the 

field of brand evaluation. 

Brand evaluation contains 

three major steps: 

1. identify the key elements which 

influence brand value 

2. measure the actual performance 

of brand key elements (taking the 

stake holders' awareness and evaluation 

of all key elements into account) 

3. draw the conclusions (including 

monetary and non-monetary). 

Although the key elements of brand 

value and evaluation methods are 

various, the major influencing factors 

can be identified by study on 

successful brand cases and analysis 

of the relevant data. 

The benefits of the development 

of the new ISO Standard 

on Brand Evaluation 

The international standard of 

brand evaluation will bring more 

brand information to the consumers 

and more information on the 

evaluation and management of 

the world's best brands research 

results and practical experience 

(particularly in developing countries, 

small and medium-sized 

enterprises) in order to conduct 

brand management more effectively 

to the brand owners. 



WARUM MARKEN BEWERTEN? 

VERHANDLUNGS- 

SITUATIONEN 

MARKEN 

MANAGEMENT 

FINANZIERUNG 

• Markengeschäfte 

• Fusionen & Erwerb 

• Markenrechtsverletzungen 

• Benchmarking – Studien 

• Strategische Planung 

• Portfolio Management 

• Marken Controlling 

• Franchising 

• Lizenzen 

• Fundraising 

Mit dem Aufbau Marken- und IP-orientierter Unternehmensstrukturen 

unterstützt eurobrand die europäische Wirtschaft und begleitet 

auch kleine und mittlere Unternehmen bei der Maximierung 

ihrer Marken-IP Werte und der Schaffung von Nachhaltigkeit. 

eurobrand unterstützt Unternehmen und Organisationen mit innovativen 

Dienstleistungen, ihre wichtigsten immateriellen Vermögenswerte 

– die Marke & IP – in einer wertorientierten Weise 

zu managen um Wettbewerbsvorteile zu realisieren. 

Europäische Marken sollten als wesentliches Asset 

mit derzeit durchschnittlich 40 Prozent des Unternehmenswertes 

– Tendenz steigend – in die Bilanzen der 

Unternehmen aufgenommen und in Ratings berücksichtigt 

werden. Damit würden zusätzlich „Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten“ 

an Marken und an Klein- und 

Mittelunternehmen geschaffen und damit ein wichtiger 

Schritt für Investitionen in Marken und damit die 

zukünftige Entwicklung hin zu großen und wertvollen 

Europäischen Marken gesetzt. 

iconannual-Magazin: Wie lassen sich diese Markeninvestitionen 

finanzieren? 

Gerhard Hrebicek: Das wäre eigentlich sehr einfach, 

denn durch alternative Finanzierungsformen wie 

etwa Crowdfinancing, Venture Capital oder Business 

Angel-Beteiligungen, wurde hier ein großes Potential 

geschaffen. Man könnte auch einen Bruchteil, der für 

die Sanierungsmaßnahmen im Bereich des Bankenund 

Finanzsektors heute in Österreich und Europa 

verwendeten Gelder dazu nützen, Fonds für immaterielle 

Vermögenswerte – also Marken – von staatlicher 

Stelle einzurichten. Diese Fonds könnten sich 

gemeinsam mit privaten oder institutionellen Investoren 

bei den wachstumsfähigen Marken – und hier 

vor allem den zahlreichen kleinen und mittleren Markenunternehmen 

– beteiligen. 

iconannual-Magazin: Herr Dr. Hrebicek, was wünschen 

Sie sich für die nächsten fünf Jahre? Wo soll 

es beim Markenmanagement hingehen? 

Gerhard Hrebicek: Berechnungen zum Markenwert 

einzelner Firmen haben ergeben, dass dieser mitunter 

die Hälfte des Firmenwertes ausmacht. Manche Firmen 

bestehen nur noch aus Produktdesign und Markenmanagement. 

Produziert wird dann irgendwo auf 

der Welt. Dass Produktion und Design künftig weiterhin 

getrennt bleiben, davon ist auszugehen, aber das 

Wichtigste wird sein, dass Marken sich weiterhin im 

Spannungsfeld zwischen Emotionen der Kunden und 

der Methodik des Managements bewegen. 

iconannual-Magazin: Herr Dr. Hrebicek, wir danken 

Ihnen für dieses Gespräch. 


GO WELL – 

GOLF & WELLNESS 

Erleben Sie Ihren perfekten Urlaub in Europas 

größtem Golf & Wellness Resort mit Therme und 

Wellness in Bad Griesbach. 

Das MAXIMILIAN besticht sowohl durch seine großzügige Architektur 

als auch durch sein elegantes Ambiente. Eingebettet in 

die herrliche Rottaler Hügellandschaft erweist sich das Hotel als 

perfekter Rückzugsort für Golfer, Erholungssuchende und Feinschmecker. 

In der hauseigenen Thermen-Oase erwartet Sie das 

wohltuende Bad Griesbacher Thermalmineralwasser. 

Abgerundet wird das Angebot von einer erstklassigen Kulinarik. 

Auf fünf 18-Loch-Meisterschaftsplätzen im Golf Resort Bad 

Griesbach wird Golfen zum Erlebnis. 

15 Tagungsräume mit Kapazitäten 

bis 200 Personen und der 

angrenzende Kursaal für bis zu 

450 Personen garantieren den 

Erfolg jeder Veranstaltung. 

Check in - tee off 

· 3 Übernachtungen mit Halbpension 

· 2 Greenfees nach Wahl im Golf Resort 

· Wohlfühlen und Erholen in der hauseigenen Therme 

Preis pro Person im DZ ab 484,– € 

MAXimal entspannt 

· 3 Übernachtungen mit Halbpension 

· 2 individuell auf Sie abgestimmte Massagen (je 30 Min.) 

· Wohlfühlen und Erholen in der hauseigenen Therme 

Preis pro Person im DZ ab 315,– € 

A. Hartl Resort GmbH & Co. SH Land- und Golfhotel Betriebs KG 

HOTEL MAXIMILIAN ★★★★★ 

Kurallee 1 | D-94086 Bad Griesbach 

Tel. +49 (0)8532 795-0 | Fax +49 (0)8532 795-151 

maximilian@quellness-golf.com | www.quellness-golf.com 

Reservierungs-Hotline: +49 (0)8532 795 512 

Bad Griesbach liegt nur 29 km vom Grenzübergang Suben 

entfernt und ca. 2,5 Autostunden von Wien. 

WEITERE INFOS UNTER WWW.QUELLNESS-GOLF.COM


Global Top 10 Brand Corporations Brand Value in Mio. € 

136.903 

73.632 

66.598 

66.521 

52.212 

48.679 

47.931 

47.257 

47.064 

46.339 © eurobrand 2015 

Resume of 2015 eurobrand Global TOP 100 results 

World's most valuable brand corporations: 

1. Apple, 2. Google, 3. Microsoft. China Mobile moves up to No. 6 

The most valuable brand corporation in the world is 

Apple, in Europe it is LVMH. 

Apple remains world's leading brand corporation 

with a brand value of EUR 136,903 bn (+21%), followed 

by Google representing a value of EUR 73,632 

bn (+9%) and Microsoft with a brand value of 66,598 

bn (+7%) which overtook the Coca Cola Company. 

Top 10 global brand corporations dominated by US, 

except for China Mobile No.6. 

LVMH remains Europe's most valuable brand corporation 

representing a brand value of EUR 39,829 bn 

(global rank 14), followed by AB Inbev with a value of 

EUR 35,781 bn (+20%) and Nestlé representing a value 

of EUR 34,289 bn (+4%). 

Asia, especially China is growing their presence in 

the TOP 100. Europe is decreasing. 

US brand landscape is dominated by IT & Technology, 

Consumer Goods and Financial Services and represents 

47 (+1) out of the TOP 100 brand corporations. 

Europe represents 35 (-6) with Germans leading, 

whilst Asia is represented with 18 (+5) brand corporations, 

thereof 10 from China. 

Average growth of TOP 100 is 11%, TOP 10 USA 

13%, TOP 10 Europe 6%. 

TOP 10 China grow by 29%, with China Mobile remaining 

No.1 Asian brand corporation with a brand value of 

EUR 48,679 bn (global rank 6) and Baidu showing the 

highest brand value increase of +47% (EUR 12,413 bn). 


Thinking outside the box 

is not just a phrase, 

but rather our approach 

to legal advice. 

“Grow your market share. Leave protecting your business to us.” That is what lawyers usually say. 

At LANSKY, GANZGER + partners we do not limit ourselves to presenting legal issues. 

Native language experts, lawyers and advisors from more than 20 nations bring the necessary 

skills to the table to solve a wide range of problems in day-to-day business life. Our geographic 

reach extends to Southern Europe, into the CIS area, and Asia. Our network includes local partner 

firms in over 50 countries worldwide. 

Successful legal advice means more than simply knowing and applying the law. 

We Lansky, provide Ganzger advice + on: 

partner, one of the leading law firms in Austria and the Slovak Republic, 

• has Company longstanding formation and profound M&A 

experience that enables it to deliver an all-encompassing, 

• inter Setting disciplinary up sales structures 

and cross-regional service of the highest level. 

• Labour law issues 

• Lansky, Market Ganzger launch of + products partner and closely services 

col labo rates 

and inter national banks, corporations and 

• with Media, ex ternal IP and specialists IT 

and a worldwide network 

companies have, over the past years, relied on 

• of Private consultants international and local law 

advisers. This ensures 

the firm’s extensive expertise. The all-inclusive 

• that Public the decision-making firm able to offer processes 

individual, strategic 

approach of Lansky, Ganzger + partner clearly 

• and European pragmatic law, all-in-one subsidies, solutions antitrust and to their competition national law 

distinguishes itself from the general standard of 

• and Outsourced international legal clients. services 

Many renowned national 

a conventional, solely legal consultancy. 

LAnSky, GAnzGeR + partner 

Attorneys at Law 

Biberstrasse 5 

a-1010 Vienna (austria) 

W: www.lansky.at 

T: +43 1 533 33 300 

F: +43 1 532 84 83 

e: office@lansky.at 

Vienna – BraT isL a V a – Baku – asT ana


Markenschutz 

in China 

Wer zuerst kommt ... 

Lansky, Ganzger & Partner (LGP) 

Mit 140 Mitarbeitern und Juristen aus rund 20 

Ländern zählt Lansky, Ganzger + Partner (LGP) 

zu den größten Wirtschaftskanzleien Österreichs. 

Der China Desk ist im Set-up der Sozietät 

ein zentrales Element. Sein Kernteam bilden 

Rechtsanwalt Dr. Gabriel Lansky, Mag. Luciano 

Duque-Cordero und die aus China stammende 

Juristin Yu Tianqi. 

Foto: LGP 

Mag. Luciano Duque-Cordero 

ist Leiter des China Desk bei 

der Rechtsanwaltskanzlei 

LANSKY, GANZGER + Partner 

(LGP) in Wien und auf Unternehmens- 

und Verfahrensrecht 

spezialisiert. Vor seiner 

Tätigkeit bei LGP absolvierte 

Luciano Duque-Cordero einen 

postgradualen Studienaufenthalt 

in China und arbeitete für 

eine chinesische Sozietät. 

… registriert zuerst. Anders als in unseren westlichen 

Rechtskulturen herrscht beim Markenschutz in der VR 

China das Prinzip „first come, first serve“. Dies bedeutet, 

dass eine beliebige Marke von jedermann bei den chinesischen 

Behörden registriert werden kann – ungeachtet 

dessen, ob diese Marke bereits von anderen verwendet 

wird. Viele ausländische Unternehmen lernen diese 

Realität nur sehr schmerzhaft kennen (darunter auch 

Branchenriesen wie Apple oder Pfizer). 

Ein gängiges Missverständnis ist, dass man durch 

Registrierung seiner Marke in der EU oder in den USA 

bereits ausreichend geschützt ist. Da das Markenschutzrecht 

nationalen Grenzen folgt, hat eine Registrierung 

hierzulande für das Markenschutzrecht der VR China 

keinerlei Bedeutung. Ein zweites gängiges Missverständnis 

ist, dass einem durch jahrelange Verwendung 

einer Marke im Geschäftsverkehr gewisse unabdingbare 

Rechte an der Marke zustehen, welche man – ungeachtet 

einer Registrierung durch einen unberechtigten 

Dritten – jederzeit gegen jedermann durchsetzen könne. 

Nicht in China: hier musste beispielsweise der US-Konzern 

Apple die Marke ‚iPad‘ um teures Geld „zurückkaufen“, 

da ein anderer diese Marke in der VR China 

bereits vor Apple – vollkommen legal – für sich registriert 

hatte. Im schlimmsten Fall kann man sogar vom 

Markeninhaber in Anspruch genommen werden, wenn 

man „seine“ Marke unberechtigt verwendet. So wurde 

beispielsweise das bekannte Sportschuhunternehmen 

New Balance von einem chinesischen Gericht kürzlich 

zu Schadenersatzzahlungen an den Markeninhaber in 

Millionenhöhe verurteilt, da New Balance die „eigene“ 

Marke unberechtigt verwendet hatte. 

Es können jedoch auch Unternehmen betroffen sein, 

welche ihre Produkte gar nicht in der VR China vertreiben, 

sondern dort lediglich für den Export produzieren 

lassen. Dies kann beispielsweise dazu führen, dass der 

Markeninhaber eine Beschlagnahme beantragen kann. 

Die rechtlichen Möglichkeiten, gegen die Registrierung 

der eigenen Marke durch Dritte vorzugehen, sind 

gering. Chancen bestehen nur dann, wenn es sich beim 

Markeninhaber um einen Geschäftspartner handelt, 

welcher widerrechtlich die Marke für sich registriert 

hat, oder wenn es sich nachweislich um sogenanntes 

Marken-Squatting handelt. Doch auch hier ist der Nachweis 

nur schwer zu erbringen. Der einfachste und wirksamste 

Schutz gegen unangenehme Überraschungen 

heißt: „registrieren, registrieren, registrieren.“ Eine Registrierung 

kann rasch und kostengünstig durchgeführt 

werden. Selbst wenn Sie noch nicht in der VR China aktiv 

sind, empfiehlt sich ein vorbeugender Schutz durch 

Registrierung der eigenen Marke. 


China Council for Brand Development (CCBD) 

China Council for 

Brand Development 

To be scientific, impartial, 

transparent and admitted 


is the only national brand-related organization 

that has acquired permission from the State 

Council and approval from Ministry of Civil 

Affairs of the PRC and is under the direct administration 

of General Administration of Quality Supervision, 

Inspection and 

Quarantine of the 

PRC (hereinafter referred 

to as "AQSIQ"). 

Adopting the system 

of council, CCBD is a 

non-profit social organization 

constituted 

voluntarily by enterprises, 

public institutions, 

social groups 

and individuals that 

are relevant to brand development. Mr. LIU Pingjun, 

member of the national committee of CPPCC and former 

deputy director of AQSIQ, acts as the president 

of CCBD. 

CCBD is mainly engaged in brand theory study, formulation 

of international and national standards, publicity 

of brand evaluation, brand fostering consultation, 

professional and technical training, brand exhibition, 

international cooperation and exchange, etc. 

CCBD has been focusing on brand evaluation, 

which is currently its important undertaking, in the 

principle of "To be scientific, impartial, transparent 

and admitted". It 

CCBD is mainly engaged in brand 

theory study, formulation of international 

and national standards, 

publicity of brand evaluation, professional 

and technical training, 

international cooperation, etc. 

also publishes "China 

Brand Evaluation 

Information" on 

Dec. 12 th every year 

by cooperating with 

entities like CCTV to 

conduct annual summary 

and analysis on 

Chinese brands' comprehensive 

connotation 

and value. Brand 

evaluation is an important action to generate positive 

energy for Chinese brands, improve their international 

influence and propel them to go global. 

As required by the development of international 

brand evaluation, International Organization for Standardization 

(ISO) established a Technical Committee 



Fotos: CCBD 

2015 China Brand Evaluation Press Conference 

(ISO/TC 289 Brand Evaluation) in January, 

2014 through the voting among ISO members 

and ISO/TMB in response to the joint proposal 

from China (SAC) and the U.S. (ANSI). The 

secretariat of ISO/TC 289 is in CCBD, which 

also hold the national mirror committee in 

China. 

By now, ISO/TC 289 has held two plenary 

meetings in Beijing and London; and two Working 

Group (ISO/TC 289/WG 1 Brand evaluation 

process) meetings in Shenzhen and Vienna 

for the development of new international standard. 

SAC (China) and ASI (Austria) share the 

convenorship of ISO/TC 289/WG 1 to initiate 

the formulation of international standard Brand 

Evaluation-Fundamentals and Principles. 

CCBD is willing to cooperate with institutions 

of brand research, evaluation and management 

all over the world in multiple levels 

and aspects to promote brand development and 

build a better life. 


Sports for Life 

An initiative of 

SPORTS FOR LIFE _ 

Fotos: Sports for Life! 

SPORTS FOR GOOD! 

SPORTS FOR LIFE! is an initiative of former 

footballers and sportsmen aiming to promote 

football to society, especially to kids who are 

socially disadvantaged! 

One of the main goals is to show our children 

the way from indoor to outdoor activities in order 

to get them in good trim. Sports encourages 

the youth and connects them – it doesn't matter 

which ethnic or social group they belong to. Team sports 

are very important because they teach children self-confidence 

and help them learn a lot about respect, teambuilding 

and other important traits that will help them 

in their future life. 

The cooperation between the SPORTS FOR LIFE!- 

Foundation and several sponsors as well as local associations 

throughout Austria ensures a variety of benefits 

for children. 

Austria's trade union for football players (Vereinigung 

der Fußballer, VdF) hosts the Bruno-Gala, an event where 

footballers and trainers are being honoured. In terms of 

this exclusive event, donations enable disadvantaged families 

free access to the camps. 



SPORTS FOR LIFE! 

STARCAMPS 

Fotos: Sports for Life! 

Thanks to its unique concept and the support of 

many sponsors and communities, STARCAMPS 

can offer attractive prices starting from € 99, 

which enables access for everyone. This is the 

most favorable price offered in Austria, mixed 

with the know-how of well-educated and 

professional trainers. 

The main purpose of the initiative is to make sports 

a part of children daily life on the one hand, and 

to provide them with the benefits of teamwork and 

social contacts on the other. This way the foundation 

attracts many children (7–14 years) and gives them 

the opportunity to join the beautiful game of football. 

Various professional football players of the Austrian 

Bundesliga come to take part in different exercises in 

terms of the STARCAMPS' trainings. The children have 

the great chance to train with them and ask individual 

questions – an interesting experience for everyone! 

Beside the reasons listed above, creating fun and 

future prospects for children is SPORTS FOR LIFE!'s 

main ambition. 

Since 1998 the VdF is highly engaged in the promotion 

of young football players. Therefore they have been 

successfully promoting the camps for years. With lots of 

specific camps and finally with the STARCAMPS (2006) 

the VdF managed to fill the gap with high quality offers 

and fair prices. All this became possible thanks to the 

support of many authorities and professional footballers. 



An Initiative of 

Have more 

CONFIDENCE 

Fotos: Katharina Schiffl 

in YOURSELF and write your 

The promotion of Women Leadership in various fields, like 

Economy, Science and Research, as well as Public Institutions 

and Society, but also the connection of successful 

women and powerful men with the purpose of strengthening 

innovative and economic power in Austria, is the 

ultimate goal of the Women Leadership Forum which has 

been initiated by the European Brand Institute. 

own story 




"A woman's career 

is divided into three 

stages: Meritocracy, 

the Messy Middle 

and Leadership" 

Barbara J. Krumsiek 

Member of Board of Directors 

at Pepco Holdings, Inc. 

"Turn diversity into a competitive 

advantage. Having teams consisting of both 

men and women, especially in the field of 

science is very important. 

Male and female scientists 

from all over the world 

with different educational 

backgrounds are a key to 

success." 


Brigitte Bach 

Head of Energy Department AIT 

"In order to stay internationally competitive, 

Austria needs women on leading positions, 

regardless whether they are 

active in Corporate Boards, 

NGOs, or as entrepreneurs 

in science and technology. 

Therefore, having more 

women on the top is an 

economic and social matter." 

Renate Altenhofer 

Initiator Women Leadership Forum 

It was a special day at the Novomatic Forum in 

Vienna and September 16 th of 2015 should belong in 

the memories of all of the attendees. The European 

Brand Institute has invited more than 160 exclusive 

guests to its third Women Leadership Forum, which 

this year followed the slogan "Women make Future". 

It was the Ambassador of the United States of 

America to Austria, H.E. Alexa Wesner, who opened 

the event by emphasizing the challenges that women 

face on their way to attain leadership positions. And 

indeed, though it is widely believed that men have always 

a better shot at leadership positions in business 

and politics, there is little consensus, however, on why 

women still remain underrepresented in these fields. 

Some of the major reasons that there aren't more women 

in top leadership roles in business and politics are 

higher standards for women and lack of readiness by 

companies to hire women for top positions and by voters 

to elect women to higher office. But there are also 

other reasons, such as: family responsibilities, inexperience, 

or women not being tough enough, that are 

cited less frequently as significant barriers to female 

leadership. 

In her keynote speech, US-Leadership expert Barbara 

J. Krumsiek, an experienced executive in investment 

management, a leader in the field of sustainable 

investing, and a dedicated advocate for global women's 

empowerment, who joined the Georgetown University 

Women's Leadership Institute as a senior industry 

fellow, asked the question "Why aren't we there yet?" 

Krumsiek described first some of the key words of her 

speech: "We" are working women, particularly those in 

corporations; "there" refers to full equality, opportunity, 

access to capital and seats at the board table and in the 

C-suite; and "yet" is now. Krumsiek contended that most 

C-corps are really he-corps, since the lion's share of positions 

in upper management — including board of director 

seats — are held by men. Although well-educated 

and often well-prepared for leadership, women are not 

yet at parity with their male counterparts. In the 100 >> 

"Gender diversity is 

not a social matter 

but a competitive 

advantage." 

Anett Hanck 

Head of Sales HEUTE 

& Board Member WLF 

Foto: Privat Foto: Katharina Schiffl 



largest companies in the U.S., women occupy only 14 

percent of senior executive positions and only four percent 

of CEO positions. Getting to parity will take time. 

Barbara Krumsiek divides a woman's career into three 

stages: Meritocracy, the Messy Middle and Leadership. 

Based on her experiences, she offered career advices to 

women in each of the three career stages: 

Meritocracy: 

Don't let anyone else fill in the blanks. Women need 

to find discreet ways to share their strengths with 

leaders and peers. Krumsiek advises, "Know your 

strengths and find ways to let others know how competent 

you are. Have confidence in yourself and write 

your own story." 

(left to right) Mag. Tatjana Oppitz, IBM; Mag. Karin Zipperer, Hafen Wien; 

Mag. DI Dr. Brigitte Bach, AIT; Marie Bysveen, SINTEF; Michaela Leonhardt, Ph.D., 

APG/ femOVE; Mag. Ulrike Huemer, Stadt Wien; Mag. Michaela Huber, OMV 

(left to right) Dr. Georg Horacek, OMV; Mag. Martina Flitsch, Novomatic AG; 

Dr. Josef Fritz, Board Search; Dr. Esther Mitterstieler, NEWS; DI Sigrid Oblak, Wien 

Holding; Mag. Corinne Gabler, Nestle; Martin Leveringhaus, Deutsche Bank 

Maurizio Giambra 


(left to right) Anett Hanck, HEUTE; Mag. Sonja Kato, unicato communications, 

H.E. Alexa Wesner, US Ambassador; Mag. Renate Altenhofer, maX iconvienna 

"Companies need to create an environment, which support women to become successful 

and proactively foster them on management level. Women themselves need to be willing 

to take this road actively and to combine it with their personal life, i.e. 

they really have to be willing to obtain management positions, prove 

their competence and be ready to face problems. In terms of operational 

business, it is proved that teams with equal proportion of men and women 

show efficient team dynamics. I am convinced that this will be the case in 

corporate boards too." 

Foto: Nestlé 

Corinne Gabler 

former General Manager Nestlé Österreich GmbH 



The Messy Middle: 

To move ahead, think obstacle course instead of corporate 

ladder. Change your thinking about climbing the 

corporate ladder and instead think of your career as an 

obstacle course. "Compassion and competition can coexist 

when you picture your career as an obstacle course 

and not a ladder", notes Krumsiek. 

Leadership: 

Declare your life balanced. No one can — or should — 

dictate how you balance your life. "Whatever you choose 

as your life balance is right," says Krumsiek. Avoid others' 

advice or judgments on having or not having it all. 

Do what is best for you, own it and declare it. 

In conclusion, Barbara Krumsiek encouraged women 

to make an impact by staying informed, but also by supporting 

other women in their careers, by facing challenges 

and by challenging others — but for all: by investing in 

change. Krumsiek also stressed the need for a balanced 

allocation of women and men in leading positions. 

For more than 25 years Sigrid Meuselbach is discussing 

female responsibility in companies and helps 

to support women on how to take their professional 

talents. Today she is a highly sought expert in male 

and female careers in science and industry. With her 

long experience of lectures, training, coaching and 

mediation, the expert guaranties that the success of 

companies and the advancement of women through 

gender cooperation can be managed. The coach and 

author of the book "Awaken the boss in you", made 

an impulse statement, in which she talked about the 

price women have to pay by following the "rules of the 

game", called "job". 

"In order to stay internationally competitive, Austria 

needs women on leading positions, regardless 

whether they are active on Corporate Boards, NGOs, 

or as entrepreneurs in fields such as science and technology. 

Therefore, having more women on the top is 

an economic and social matter", concluded the Women 

Leadership Forum-initiator, Renate Altenhofer. >> 

"I did an apprenticeship as a 

supervisory board member and then 

pointed out that I want to take such a 

position. I decided 

to take this step, 

as no one would 

have offered me this 

position." 

Foto: Novomatic/krischanz 

Martina Flitsch 

Member of the supervisory 

board Novomatic AG 

"Women Leadership Forum sets important 

incentives for more women in leading positions. 

Having more women in management is an essential 

requirement for companies to 

conduct business successfully. 

Moreover, supporting females 

contributes to cultural 

diversification in management." 

Kristin Hanusch-Linser 

Head of Open Innovation Lab & Service 

Design Center ÖBB Holding AG 

Foto: Hauswirth 

"Apart from that, I think it is quite foolish to renounce on the 

potential of half of the human race, I do not believe in “the 

typical feminine”. I believe in the abilities of individuals. If you 

provide the younger generation the same chances in their 

development, in their education and in their 

environment and if you give them a good 

example, the relationship between men and 

women will converge in top positions." 

Foto: OMV 

Michaela Huber 

Senior Vice President of safety and 

environmental agendas OMV AG 

Upcoming 

WOMEN 

LEADERSHIP FORUM 

September 14, 2016 

NOVOMATIC FORUM 

WIEN 

www.womenleadership.at 



After these amazing keynote speeches, three panel discussions 

gave a brighter view on the goals women in 

higher positions should have nowadays: In the first panel 

discussion, based under the slogan "Woman makes 

future", the speakers took an active part at the forum to 

discuss the topic "Powerful job rules — inspire women 

to undertake control". Among them were: News-Chief 

Editor Eva Weissenberger, former Director Corporate 

Communications of the Austrian Railways ÖBB, Kristin 

Hanusch-Linser, Head of the Sales Team at the free newspaper 

Heute, Anett Hanck and Rewe International Group 

Director Corporate Communications Corinna Tinkler. 

In the second well awaited panel, the member of the 

Editorial Crew at the Magazine News, Esther Mitterstieler, 

the member of the Novomatic supervisory board, 

Martina Flitsch, the CEO of the Vienna Holding — a pillar 

of the economic power of the Vienna City Administration 

— Sigrid Oblak, the authorized officer of the 

Deutsche Bank, Martin Leveringhaus, as well as former 

Nestlé-Director General, Corinne Gabler, discussed the 

topic "Command & control". 

In the course of the third panel "Don't fear the 

STEM" panelists, like IBM-General Manager Tatjana 

Oppitz, the Chief Information Officer of the City of 

Vienna, Ulrike Huemer, the Expert on eco- and energyeconomic 

forecasts in the Austrian Power Grid AG, 

Michaela Leonhardt, as well as the Senior vice president 

of safety and environmental agendas of OMV, Michaela 

Huber, revealed special ways of success for Women 

in the intersection of mathematics, informatics, science 

and technology, under the guidance of the panel chair, 

the Head of Energy Department at the Austrian Institute 

of Technology (AIT), Brigitte Bach. Karin Zipperer, 

former Managing Director of the Port of Vienna, made 

instantly clear that, "the technical vocational field will 

start experiencing benefits, once the ice has been broken 

and women strengthen their position in technical professions". 

After the three panel discussions, that have been 

followed meticulously and attentive by the attendees of 

the Women Leadership Forum, the Italian Designer 

Maurizio Giambra inspired all the participants with 

a highly exclusive Fashion Show and got a huge applause 

by the crowd. At the following Cocktail reception 

there was more time to deepen and discuss all 

the ideas communicated during the day. 

"Technology is women's best 

friend – there is no sector with 

better career prospects, more 

flexible working models or 

greater chances to work in an 

international environment. Nevertheless, 

there is a downward 

trend in the number of women, 

working in the technology sector. 

We certainly can't and don't 

want to allow ourselves to lose 

50% of this potential. Therefore, 

we must raise the attractivity 

of techhnical professions. This 

vision should 

be already set 

in the preschool 

age!" 

Foto: Pepo Schuster 

"Having more women power at management level would 

be beneficial for every sector. Women Leadership forum sets 

valuable insights for awareness-raising and helps us support 

females to reach the desired leading 

positions, which are still dominated by 

men. Women should rather concentrate 

on their strengths and know-how, than on 

being different in comparison to men." 

Foto: REWE International AG 

Tatjana Oppitz 

Country General 

Manager IBM Austria 

Corinna Tinkler 

Director Corporate Communications 

REWE International AG 

"I am deeply convinced that 

a significant share of women 

in top management level 

positions and supervisory 

committees will bring a wide 

range of positive effects." 

Sigrid Oblak 

Director Wien Holding 

Foto: Eva Kelety 


maximize your business communication! 

award conception I brand communication & consulting 

event management I marketing outsourcing 

public relations I ratings & studies 

Our initiatives 

www.icon-vienna.net 

www.europeanbrandinstitute.com/forum/ 

www.womenleadership.at 

maX iconvienna GmbH 

Börsegasse 9/8, 1010 Wien 

office@maxcc.at 

www.maxcc.at

Erleben Sie Golf, Wellness und Bayerische Gastlichkeit 

an einem Ort – in Europas Golf Resort Nr. 1! Spielen 

Sie auf 129 Golfbahnen, wohnen Sie First Class in 

den Resort Hotels oder in den Gutshöfen direkt am 

Golfplatz und erholen Sie sich in der idyllischen Natur 

des Rottals. Wir freuen uns auf Sie! 

Übrigens, Bad Griesbach liegt nahe Passau nur 20 km 

hinter Schärding und Braunau sowie 2,5 h von Wien. 

HOME OF THE 

OUELLNESS 

GOLF RESORT 

BAD GRIESBACH 

WWW.QUELLNESS-GOLF.COM

iconvienna Gallery 

Impressions 

from 

iconvienna 

2015 


(left to right) Gerhard Hrebicek, President iconvienna; H.E. Alvaro Jose Robelo Gonzalez, Ambassador of Nicaragua 

to Austria; H.E. Carmen Maria Gallardo Hernandez, Ambassador of El Salvador to Austria; H.E. Gloria Del Carmen 

Young Chizmar, Ambassador of Panama to Austria; H.E. Jaime Alberto Cabal Sanclemente, Ambassador of Colombia 

to Austria; H.E. Ramon Quinones, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Austria; H.E. Ali Uzcategui Duque, 

Ambassador of Venezuela to Austria; H.E. Antonio Roberto Castellanos Lopez, Ambassador of Guatemala to Austria) 

Austrian Federal Chamber of Commerce 

(left to right) Gerhard Hrebicek, President iconvienna; Anna Maria Hochhauser, Secretary- 

General, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber; Wilhelm Molterer; Director European Fund for 

Strategic Investments; Andreas Matthä, Executive Director ÖBB Infrastruktur 

(left to right) Christian Wurm, Head of Department Research, Technology and Innovation, 

Municipality Department 23; Silke Sorger, Head of Purchasing Infineon; Daniel Chladek, 

Regional Manager, Vienna Business Agency; Ana B. Bovan, President Central European 

Development Forum, Serbia; Ahmed Adel, Inventor & Owner Solabolic 

(left to right) H.E. Ramon Quinones, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Austria; 

Renate Altenhofer, Managing Partner iconvienna; Gerhard Hrebicek, President iconvienna; 

H.E. Ali Uzcategui Duque, former Ambassador of Venezuela to Austria; Maya Stoeva, 

Project Manager iconvienna 

(left to right) Stefan Petters, Managing Director, guo Business Development Consult; Hugo-Maria 

Schally, Head of Unit Eco-Innovation & Circular Economy, EC; Brigitte Bach, Head of Energy 

Department AIT; Harald Jony, Director of Energy Management & Sales ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG; 

Dianne H.B. Welsh, Professor of Entrepreneurship at The University of North Carolina Greensboro; 

Peter Canciani, Project Manager CEI 


eurobrand forum 

BRANDS RELOADED 

eurobrandforum is the independent consulting platform for brand and 

IP experts (brands, patents, trademarks, designs and copyrights, …). 

The exclusive event for high level national and 

international decision makers and opinion 

leaders provide the perfect setting for extensive 

discussions and to exchange know-how 

on the needs of intellectual property, the relationship 

between brands, media, agencies, human resources, 

politics and tax and on the questions of how IP rights 

and brands can be successfully managed in order to 

compete on a global level. 

REVIEW 2015 

The European Brand Institute invited to 

eurobrand forum 2015 following the motto 

"Brands Reloaded" on October 14, 2015 at 

the Novomatic Forum Vienna. 


(left to right): Josef Wurditsch, Consultatio; Gerhard Schuller, ELK; Manfred 

Berger, Neusicht; Anett Hanck, HEUTE; Gerhard Hrebicek, European Brand 

Institute; Alexander Szadeczky, Nofrontiere Design 

In the course of the exclusive brand event, representatives 

from International business media and brand 

community discussed the future of heritage brands, 

challenges and opportunities of the new reloaded traditional 

brands and brand management implementation. 

(left to right): Paul Leitenmüller, Opinion Leaders Network; Doris Felber, 

Bäckerei Felber; Peter Baumgartrner, freeyourbrand; Alfred Schrott, Manner AG 

The president of the European Brand Institute 

Gerhard Hrebicek introduced the event with his opening 

remarks on the topic "Heritage Brands are valuable! 

eurobrand global Top 100 brand corporations – a 

global perspective of the value". 

The following speakers discussed the challenges 

and opportunities of brands in the course of the 

podium discussion "Brands Reloaded – Wirtschaftsfaktor 

oder Markenkosmetik" with panel chair Anett 

Hanck, HEUTE: Manfred Berger – Neusicht, Gerhard 

Hrebicek – European Brand Institute, Alexander 

Szadeczky – Nofrontiere Design, Gerhard Schuller – 

ELK Holding, and Josef Wurditsch – Consultatio. 

Finally, eurobrandforum was followed by the exclusive 

ceremony BRAND [LIFE] AWARD, which took 

place for the 7 th time, awarding Austrian personalities 

for their life-time achievement in successfully establishing, 

developing and managing brands and brand 

corporations. KTM-boss Stefan Pierer was 2015's winner 

of the BRAND [LIFE] AWARD. 



An Initiative of 

BRAND [LIFE] AWARD 

The brand life award ceremony took 

place for the 7 th time, awarding Austrian 

personalities for their life-time 

achievement in successfully establishing, 

developing and managing 

brands and brand corporations. 

UPCOMING 

eurobrand forum 2016 

OCTOBER 18, 2016 

NOVOMATIC FORUM WIEN 

(left to right): Stefan Pierer, KTM; Gerhard Hrebicek, European Brand Institute 

www.europeanbrandinstitute.com/forum/ 

"Corporate and product brands are essential value factors and prosperity indicators 

for each economy. They create identity and value among the whole society." 

BRAND AMBASSADORS & 

BRAND [LIFE] AWARD WINNER 2015 

(left to right): Paul Leitenmüller, Opinion Leaders Network; Adi Hirschal, Helmut Hanusch, VGN; Doris Felber, Bäckerei Felber; Helene Karmasin, Karmasin 

Behavioural Insights ; Stefan Pierer, KTM; Iris Sageder, Artist; Alfred Riedl, Jacques Lemans; Gerhard Hrebicek, European Brand Institute 


Contacts 

A. Hartl Resort GmbH & Co. SH Land- und Golfhotel Betriebs KG Kurallee 1, 94086 Bad Griesbach, Germany www.quellness-golf.com 

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Donau-City-Straße 1, 1220 Vienna www.ait.ac.at 

Austrian Experts Group on Business Mediation Schwarzenbergplatz 14,1041 Vienna www.wirtschaftsmediation.cc 

Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Wiedner Hauptstraße 62, 1045 Vienna www.wko.at 

Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH Walcherstraße 11A, 1020 Vienna www.awsg.at 

café+co Österreich GmbH Theodor-Sickel-Gasse 2, 1100 Vienna www.cafeplusco.at 

CÉ LA VI SINGAPORE Marina Bay Sands SkyPark, Tower 3, 

1 Bayfront Avenue, 18971 Singapore www.celavi.com 

Central European Initiative Via Genova 9, 34121 Trieste, Italy www.cei.int 


No.18/Bei San Huan Dong Lu/ Chaoyang District, 

100013 Beijing, China www.brand-intl.cn 

City of Vienna Rathaus, 1082 Vienna www.wien.gv.at 

CONDA Crowdinvesting Österreich Donau-City-Straße 6, 1220 Vienna www.conda.at 

Eurocomm-PR GmbH Renngasse 5/3, 1010 Vienna www.wienholding.at 

ELK Building Systems GmbH Wiedner Hauptstraße 120-124, 1050 Vienna www.elkbuildingsystems.com 

Embassy of Argentina in Austria 

Goldschmiedgasse 2/1, 1010 Vienna 

Embassy of Colombia in Austria Stadiongasse 6-8/15, 1010 Vienna austria.embajada.gov.co 

Embassy of Nicaragua in Austria 

Ebendorferstraße 10/3/12, 1010 Vienna 

Embassy of Romania in Austria Prinz-Eugen-Straße 60, 1040 Vienna vienna.mae.ro 

Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Austria Armbrustergasse 24, 1190 Vienna www.mzv.sk/vieden 

Embassy of the Czech Republic in Austria Penzinger Straße 11 - 13, 1140 Vienna www.mzv.cz/vienna 

Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Austria Metternichgasse 4, 1030 Vienna www.chinaembassy.at 

Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Austria 

Schwindgasse 8, 1040 Vienna 

Embassy of the Russian Federation in Austria Reisnerstraße 45-47, 1030 Vienna www.rusemb.at 

Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Austria 

Prinz-Eugen-Straße 18, 1040 Vienna 

Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Austria Kaiserstraße 84, 1070 Vienna www.cubadiplomatica.cu/austria 

Embassy of the Republic of Guatemala in Austria 

Prinz-Eugen-Straße 18 / Top 7, 1040 Vienna 

Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Austria Prinz-Eugen-Straße 72/1.OG//Top1.1, 1040 Vienna www.austria.gob.ve 

Embassy of the Republic of Panama in Austria 

Goldschmiedgasse 10/403, 1010 Vienna 

Embassy of the Republic of El Salvador in Austria Prinz-Eugen-Straße 72/2/1, 1040 Vienna www.rree.gob.sv 

Embassy of the United States of America in Austria Boltzmanngasse 16, 1090 Vienna www.usembassy.at 

Permanent Mission of Ecuador in Vienna 

Goldschmiedgasse 10/2/205, 1010 Vienna 

European Brand Institute Börsegasse 9/8, 1010 Vienna www.europeanbrandinstitute.com 

European Commission BERL 09/399 , 1049 Brussels, Belgium ec.europa.eu 

EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) Kirchberggasse 33-35/9, 1070 Vienna www.danube-capacitycooperation.eu 

General Motors Austria GmbH Groß-Enzersdorfer Straße 59, 1220 Vienna www.opel.at 

HBM GmbH Lemböckgasse 63/2, 1230 Vienna www.hbm.com 

ICNM - International Center for New Media Leopoldskronstraße 30, 5020 Salzburg www.eu-youthaward.org 

Institute of Science and Technology Austria Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg www.ist.ac.at 

ITKAM-Austrian Desk Biberstraße 5, 1010 Vienna www.itkam-austria.org 

Kommunalkredit Austria AG Türkenstraße 9, 1092 Vienna www.kommunalkredit.at 

LANSKY, GANZGER + partner Biberstraße 5, 1010 Vienna www.lansky.at 

Lyoness Austria GmbH Grazbachgasse 87-93, 8010 Graz www.lyoness.com 

maX iconvienna GmbH Börsegasse 9/8, 1010 Vienna www.icon-vienna.net 

MA 23 - Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Statistik Meiereistraße 7, Sektor B, 1020 Vienna www.wien.gv.at/kontakte/ma23 

Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Minoritenplatz 8, 1010 Vienna www.bmeia.gv.at 

Novomatic AG Wiener Straße 158, 2352 Gumpoldskirchen www.novomatic.com 

ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG Praterstern 3, 1020 Vienna www.oebb.at/infrastruktur 

Österreichischer Städtebund Rathaus, Stiege 5, Hochparterre, 1082 Vienna www.staedtebund.gv.at 

Sports For Life Börsegasse 9/8, 1010 Vienna www.sports-for-life.net 

TINA Vienna GmbH Liechtensteinstraße 12/10, 1090 Vienna www.tinavienna.at 

Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry Stubenring 8-10, 1010 Vienna wko.at/wien 

Wien Holding Universitätsstraße 11, 1010 Vienna www.wienholding.at 

Woman Leadership Forum Börsegasse 9/8, 1010 Vienna www.womenleadership.at 


eurobrand is the exclusive valuation partner of European 

Brand Institute with two decades of proven experience 

in the field of brand and IP valuation. 

We are Europe’s number one address for innovative, 

tailor made structures in the areas of corporate finance, 

balance sheet activation of brands & IP and increasing 

brand & IP efficiency. 

In building brand- and IP-oriented company structures, 

eurobrand supports the European economy and guides 

also small and medium-sized companies to maximize 

brand & IP value and sustainability. 

eurobrand proves and enlarges its competence 

continuously through independent brand & IP valuation 

and research and its contribution to national and 

international standardization. 

the independent brand & patent 

valuation experts and 

consultancy 

Brand & IP license valuation 

Brand & IP Valuation & reports 

Brand & IP balance sheet activation 

Value optimized organizational structures 

Global benchmarking database in all industries 

www.eurobrand.cc 

GLOBAL TOP 100 

BRAND CORPORATIONS

INKLUSIVE 

PRIVAT- 

SEKRETÄR 

Der neue Astra Sports Tourer 

mit 

Das Auto des Jahres 2016 überzeugt mit luxuriösen Features der Oberklasse: 

• Ihr persönlicher Online- und Service-Assistent 

• Automatische Notfallhilfe und Navi-Zieleingabe 

• Diagnosen und Verriegelung via Smartphone App 

Mehr auf opel.at/astra-sportstourer 

Verbrauch gesamt in l / 100 km: 3,4 – 6,2; CO 2 

-Emission 

in g / km: 89 –142. Abbildung zeigt Sonderausstattungen.

iconannual 2016 - The European Business and Invetsment Magazine

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template ?