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Foundation & Association

Our organisation

The Forum is made possible by the collaboration of many committed people. With the exception of the full-time organising team, most of them are volunteers. They work in various programming boards, making sure that our standards of relevance and high quality are met. The European Forum Alpbach operates under the leadership of its Executive Board. The organisational team is responsible for executing the strategy and organising all activities throughout the year. The Scientific Advisory Board and the International Advisory Board support the team in the selection of topics and speakers as well as in the further development of an international network. The Board of Trustees and the General Assembly determine guidlines for the activities of the association and for programming. The voice of our many independent Alpbach Alumni Associations is present in all EFA bodies via a team of elected representatives. In addition, the foundation was established to organise the scholarship programme.

Executive Board

The boards of the European Forum Alpbach Association and the European Forum Alpbach Foundation consist of seventeen dedicated people with one goal: To positively contribute to the future of Europe. The Foundation and Association are chaired by Andreas Treichl who is elected president since 2020. Together with a team of international experts, he is responsible for the orientation and strategy of the European Forum Alpbach.

Andreas Treichl

President Association & Chairman Foundation

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Klaudie Mrkusová

Board Member Association (FAN-Representative)

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Jenni Zeller

Board Member Association (FAN-Representative)

Marie Ringler

Vice President Association

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Caroline Hornstein-Tomić

Board Member Foundation

Winfried Kneip

Board Member Foundation

Andreas Bierwirth

Treasurer, Board Member Association

Antonella Mei-Pochtler

Vice President Association

Executive Board Association

Andreas Treichl, President | Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ERSTE Stiftung

Antonella Mei-Pochtler, Vice President | International consultant, member of various supervisory boards and investor

Marie Ringler, Vice President | European head of the world’s largest network for social entrepreneurs, Ashoka

Andreas Bierwirth, Treasurer | CEO and Co-partner of Avcon Jet AG, trained professional pilot and active in various supervisory board functions

Jenni Zeller, Board Member (FAN-Representative) | Member of the Forum Alpbach Network Board | Conference interpreter, DLG at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and Chair of the Forum Alpbach Network Board

Klaudie Mrkusová, Board Member (FAN-Representative) | Member of the Forum Alpbach Network Board | Policy Officer DG ENER (European Commission) and Vice-Chair of the Forum Alpbach Network Board

Executive Board Foundation

Andreas Treichl, Chairman | Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ERSTE Stiftung

Caroline Hornstein-Tomić, Board Member | Senior Researcher (Sociology & Anthropology) at Insitute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar / Zagreb und Co-founder & Managing Partner of THE CIVICS Innovation Hub

Winfried Kneip, Board Member | Freelance Educational Consultant and Former Head of the Education Competence Centre of the Mercator Foundation

Unit Operations | Digital Project Manager

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Council

The Council advises and supports the organisation in all its activities. Its members ensure that the continuity in the connection to the historical roots and values of the European Forum Alpbach as well as the pluralistic anchoring in democratic society is preserved or strived for. The Council consists of up to 40 members as well as the members of the Executive Board, the Chairpersons of the Board of Trustees and the International Advisory Board, three representatives of the FAN, the Honorary Presidents and the auditors.

Members of the Council

Markus Bischofer | Mayor of Alpbach (co-opted)

Brigitte Brenner | Ambassador, Permanent Observer of the IPU to the United Nations and international organizations in Vienna

Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook | Senior Advisor, Bertelsmann Foundation

Verena Ehold | Head of the Federal Environment Agency

Lisa-Marie Fassl | Founder, Venture Capital Fund F

Irene Giner-Reichl, Chair | Retired Ambassador

Erich Gornik | Physicist, Emeritus University Professor

Wolfgang Habermayer | Founder and CEO, Merito Financial Solutions

Michael Haider | Federal Ministry Republic of Austria, European and International Affairs, international law office

Valerie Hengl | Co-founder of Purecy

Bruno Hofbauer | Major General, Austrian Federal Army

Herwig Hösele | Secretary-General, Future Fund of the Republic of Austria

Michael Ikrath | Former Member of the National Council Austria

Thomas Kahn | Managing Director Congress Centrum Alpbach (co-opted)

Sabina Kasslatter-Mur | Former President of the State Parliament and State Councillor South Tyrol

Georg Kopetz | Co-founder and Board Member of TTTech Computertechnik AG

Larissa Krainer | University of Klagenfurt

Elisabeth Krainer-Senger-Weiss | Attorney

Kathryn List | CEO and Co-Founder, AVL Foundation

Christian Macek | Official, European Commission Brussels

Bernhard Marckhgott | Head of Corporate Communications, Raiffeisenlandesbank Upper Austria

Josef Margreiter | CEO, Lebensraum Tirol Holding GmbH

Sophie Martinetz | Director, WU Legal Tech Center and Managing Partner Future-Law

Beate Meinl-Reisinger | Party Leader of NEOS and Group Leader in the National Council

Dieter Natlacen | Attorney

Bernhard Niesner | Founder, Busuu

Leonard Novy | Co-Director of the Institute for Media and Communication Policy (IfM) in Cologne

Wolfgang Petritsch | Retired Ambassador, President of the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation

Klaus Poier | Political Scientist and Constitutional Lawyer, University Professor

Sophie Pornschlegel | Director of Studies at Europe Jacques Delors, Policy Fellow of the Progressive Centre

Filip Radunović | Team Leader, GIZ (Belgrade)

Rupert Sausgruber | Rector of the Vienna University of Economics and Business

Rainer Schrems | Manager, SALONO Companysolutions GmbH

Agnes Streissler-Führer | Chairperson of the GPA Private Foundation

Matthias Strolz | Founder of NEOS - The New Austria, Author

Alexandra Terzić-Auer | Founder of the MEHRSTERN and SCHOLÉ initiatives - leisure for the heart and mind

Stefan Wallner | Managing Director, Alliance for Nonprofit Organizations

Christoph Wenna | Founder & Managing Partner, Wenna Consult GmbH

Werner Wutscher, Vice Chair | Founder of New Venture Scouting

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Board members of the EFA-Association

Representing the Forum Alpbach Network (FAN): Florian Boschek

Representing the Forum Alpbach Network (FAN): Andreas Maierhofer

Representing the Forum Alpbach Network (FAN): Jenni Zeller

Honorary President of the EFA: Franz Fischler

Chairwoman of the Scientific Advisory Board: Michaela Fritz

Chair of the International Advisory Board: Thomas Mayr-Harting

Scientific Advisory Board

The Scientific Advisory Board provides academic advice to the Executive Board and the other bodies of the association. In particular, it makes suggestions for the programme design, the selection of speakers, moderators, seminar leaders and the formats of the association's events. The Scientific Advisory Board consists of up to 40 recognised academics and people from public and cultural life as well as the Chairperson of the IAB and three representatives of the FAN.

Members of the Scientific Advisory Board

Nadia Al-Bagdadi | Professor, Department of History and Center for Religious Studies at Central European University  

Brigitte Bach | Managing Director, Austrian Institute of Technology 

Felix Creutzig | Groupleader Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and  
Climate Change  

Maria Demertzis | Senior Fellow at Bruegel & Professor of Economic Policy at STG, European University Institute 

Anna Durnova | Professor of Political Sociology University of Vienna & Senior Fellow Institute for Advanced Studies  

Gabriel Felbermayr | Director at the Austrian Institute for Economic Research WIFO & professor at Vienna University of Economics and Business  

Michaela Fritz, Chair | Vice Rector for Research and Innovation, Medical University Vienna

Franz-Stefan Gady | Consulting Senior Fellow at International Institute for Strategic Studies IISS 

Katharina Gassner | Senior Economist for Infrastructure at World Bank 

Philipp Gerbert | General Managing Director TUM Venture Labs 

Misha Glenny | Rector at the Institute for Human Sciences  

Ian Goldin | Professor of Globalization and Development Oxford University & Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin School 

Bernhard Haslhofer | Group Leader Cryptofinance at Complexity Science Hub & Co-Founder Iknaio Cryptoasset Analytics 

Hermann Hauser | Director at Amadeus Capital Partners 

Markus Hengstschläger | Head of the Center for Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University Vienna 

Sabine Junginger | Full Professor in Communication Design at Northumbria University, School of Design

Eleni Lazarou | Acting Head of the External Policies Unit of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS)

Mark Leonard | Executive Director at European Council on Foreign Relations ECFR 

Dominik Markl | Professor of Biblical Studies and Historical Theology, University of Innsbruck 

Katja Mayer | Senior Postdoc at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Vienna 

Josef Mitterer | former Professor at the Department of Philosophy at University of Klagenfurt  

Philippe Narval | Secretary General Lebenshilfe Österreich

Manfred Nowak | Secretary General of the Global Campus of Human Rights 

Barbara Prainsack | Professor for Comparative Policy Analysis at the University of Vienna 

Michael Reiterer | Distinguished Professor at Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, Brussels School of Governance 

Keywan Riahi | Program Director at International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis  

Diemut Schilling | Professor of Drawing and Printmaking at Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences  

Nona Shepphard | Associate Director and Chair of Audition Panel at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 

Leena Srivastava | Advisory Council at New Age Makers Institute of Technology NAMTECH 

Georg Steinhauser | Professor of Applied Radiochemistry at Technical University of Vienna 

Katrin Suder | Senior Advisor and Board Member & former State Secretary at German Ministry of Defence 

Kavita Surana | Professor of Data Ecosystems and Environmental Accountability at the Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, Vienna University of Economics and Business 

Ulrike Tappeiner | Professor at Department of Ecology at University of Innsbruck & Head of Institute for Alpine Environment at Eurac Research Bozen 

Velina Tchakarova | Founder & Geopolitical Strategist at FACE For A Conscious Experience & Visiting Fellow, Observer Research Foundation

Nathalie Tocci | Director at Istituto Affari Internazionali 

Renata Uitz | Co-Director Democracy Institute at Central European University

Howard Williamson, Vice-Chair | Professor of European Youth Policy, Faculty of Business and Creative Industries at University of South Wales

Chairman of the International Advisory Board: Thomas Mayr-Harting

Representing the Forum Alpbach Network (FAN): Jenni Zeller  

Representing the Forum Alpbach Network (FAN): Florian Boschek

Representing the Forum Alpbach Network (FAN): Dorotea Neuberg  

International Advisory Board

The International Advisory Board consists of up to 40 internationally recognised personalities from politics, business, science and society. The International Advisory Board advises the Executive Board on programme development and the selection of speakers and supports the association in its networking activities.

Members of the International Advisory Board

Catherine Ashton | Former High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - Vice-President of the European Commission, European Union

Carl Bildt | Co-Chair, European Council on Foreign Relations/former Prime Minister of Sweden

Anna Maria Corazza Bildt | Former Member of the European Parliament

Franz Fischler | Former Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, European Union/former President of the European Forum Alpbach

Melissa Fleming | Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at United Nations

Florence Gaub | Director of the Research Division, NATO Defense College

Katja Gentinetta | Philosopher, Author, TV moderator

Eamon Gilmore | Former EU Special Representative Human Rights, European Union

Arancha González Laya | Dean, Paris School of International Affairs/former Foreign Minister of Spain

Hermann Hauser | Founding Partner, Amadeus Capital Partners

Jean-Claude Hollerich | Cardinal, Archbishop of Luxembourg

Wolfgang Ischinger | President, Foundation Council of the Munich Security Conference Foundation

Ivan Krastev | Chairman, Centre for Liberal Strategies

Miroslav Lajcák | Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues, European Union/former Foreign Minister of Slovakia

Pascal Lamy | Vice-President, Paris Peace Forum/former Director-General, World Trade Organisation

Thomas Mayr-Harting, Chair | Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process

Philippe Narval | Secretary General, Lebenshilfe Österreich

Kasia Pisarska | Founder of the European Academy of Diplomacy/Co-Founder of the Casimir Pulaski Foundation and the Warsaw Security Forum.

Geneviève Pons | Director General and Vice President, Europe – Jacques Delors in Brussels

Daniel Sachs | Founder and CEO, P Capital Partners

Anya Schiffrin | Director of the Technology, Media, and Communications, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs

Martin Selmayr | Professor Dr., Ambassador of the European Union in Rome, Former Secretary General of the European Commission and Head of Cabinet of the President of the European Commission

Bruno Stagno-Ugarte | Chief Advocacy Officer, Human Rights Watch/former Foreign Minister of Costa Rica

Joseph Stiglitz | Economist and Professor, Columbia University/Recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences