About networks and differences: Women lead differently

How women lead, how their personal leadership style differs from how they themselves were led and what role networks play will be discussed by the interviewees at 3.30 p.m. at the OÖN Women’s Day.

Susanne Riess-Hahn

Susanne Riess-Hahn, General Director Wüstenrot
Image: Wüstenrot Group

Riess-Hahn, who grew up in Mattighofen and Salzburg, studied law in Innsbruck. She turned to politics early on and became an FPÖ politician and the first woman Vice Chancellor of the Republic of Austria (2000 to 2002) as well as Minister for Public Performance and Sport under Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel. After a serious falling out with Jörg Haider, she resigned from all political functions in 2003. On March 25, 2005 she announced that she was leaving the FPÖ.

Riess has been General Director of the Wüstenrot Group since 2004. She also serves on a number of supervisory boards and has also served on the advisory board of Signa Holding since 2009 (on the recently dissolved board).

Kathrin Kühfahrer-Leitner

With Kathrin Kühfahrer-Leitner, the first woman joined the board of Oberösterreichische Versicherung in October 2020. The manager is responsible for sales on the board. She has been working for the insurance company since 2010, before that she worked in the Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce, where, among other things, she was the regional manager for “Woman in Business Upper Austria”.

The mother of one daughter was also mayor of Hagenberg for ten years. The political scientist studied also completed an MBA at Limak and management training at the St. Gallen Management Institute.

Beatrix the teacher

Beatrix Praeceptor, Managing Director of Greiner Packaging
Image: Greiner AG

The manager has been in charge of the packaging division of the plastics and foam group Greiner Group, based in Kremsmünster, since May 2023. She is the first woman at management level in the Greiner Group and heads the largest operational division. The Viennese native has set herself the goal of driving forward the sustainable transformation of the global company.

The diplomat’s daughter, who grew up in Canada and Italy, started her career at Philipps as a clerk, successfully completed her master’s degree in business management and entrepreneurship at the Vienna University of Applied Sciences while working, and then dedicated herself to promoting sustainability, diversity and inclusion in various positions in companies such as Mondi. She is the mother of three adult children.

Isolde Perndl

designated commercial manager Managing Director of the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences
Image: Private

What are the most important points for good and successful employee management? Isolde Perndl doesn’t need to think regarding it for long. “Specifically define and express the goals that should be achieved. On the way there, check whether progress can be seen. And give honest feedback on a regular basis,” says the 43-year-old mother of one son, who has years of leadership experience and will be on stage at the OÖN Women’s Day on March 8th in the Promenade Galleries in Linz as an expert on the topic “Women lead differently”. .

The next management task for Perndl has already been determined. The Ampfwanger-born woman, who lives with her family in Altenberg, has been the designated commercial director of the Upper Austrian University of Applied Sciences since February 27, 2024, and will, following the departure of long-term President Gerald Reisinger, take over the management of the FH in a duo with Michael Rabl (designate President for research and teaching).

Perndl will be giving up her current job as commercial managing director of Kultur GmbH des Landes (LKG) in the foreseeable future. Perndl smiles without comment that her voluntary waiver of a contract extension in the LKG might have something to do with the fact that the plans of her scientific co-managing director Alfred Weidinger were sometimes very erratic and not always thought through.

Before her four-year commitment to the cultural sector, the business economist and lawyer gained experience in industry. At Siemens VAI and Primetals she was responsible for accounting and controlling. Isolde Perndl gained her first professional experience in Munich at the auditing firm KPMG.

Over the years, Perndl, whose younger sister is Women and Integration Minister Susanne Raab, has developed an impeccable reputation as a financial expert. Perndl is relaxed regarding the fact that there are still voices that connect her professional career with her sister’s fame. “As an elder, I am proud that my sister holds a ministerial position. Their position has no positive or negative impact on me.”