Boards at the Heart of a Strategic Industrial Policy

Christoph Badelt emphasised that corporate goals today must not only be met in business terms, but also in the areas of environment, social affairs and corporate management. After all, today a company under state influence has a declared environmental role to play: "There are strong arguments for why services of general interest or infrastructure should rather be in public hands and why certain areas should not be privatised.

Werner Hölzl then spoke about the challenge of multiple goals in supervisory boards. Unclear and multidimensional objectives make it more difficult for supervisory boards to achieve their goals. However, the state as owner could take precautions by taking measures to reduce the inconsistency of corporate goals. Partial privatisation can help. Nevertheless, the question arises as to whether other forms of state intervention – apart from state ownership – are not better suited to achieving possible socio-political goals.

The composition of boards is decisive for the success of a company. For example, independent boards could provide important input for corporate control. Professional competence and an appropriate diversity of these competences are particularly relevant success factors.

With the ÖBAG Forum, the state-owned holding company hosted for the first time a broad platform for the exchange of experience, opinions and knowledge in the ÖBAG atrium in Vienna's ninth district. In addition to guests from Austrian industry, ÖBAG invited supervisory board members, auditors, lawyers and numerous young entrepreneurs to attend the event. The event was opened by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen.

In a speech, Thomas Schmid, CEO of ÖBAG, emphasised the increasing importance of the state as a sustainable investor: "The issues of governance, sustainability, ESG criteria and diversity are strategic challenges for which we at ÖBAG are actively looking for answers. Strengthening and improving governance standards in Austria is one of ÖBAG's central tasks: "Today, we are confronted with the fact that industries are becoming increasingly complex. This is also changing the demands placed on supervisory boards. Specific expertise and a balanced mix of control and sparring functions define the new understanding of supervisory boards", said Schmid. Transparency, diversity, professionalism and sustainability are essential factors for successful governance.

As a regular dialogue platform, the ÖBAG Forum is intended to be a central driving force for industrial policy issues and to link all stakeholders relevant to the governance of leading companies. The kick-off event was moderated by Nadja Bernhard (ORF) and Rainer Nowak (Die Presse).

About ÖBAG

ÖBAG currently holds eleven shareholdings: OMV AG, Österreichische Post AG, Telekom Austria AG, CASAG, BIG, APK Pensionskasse, GBK-Bergbau, IMIB, SCHOELLER-BLECKMANN GmbH and FIMBAG. Verbund AG, which is listed on the stock exchange, is managed by ÖBAG for the Federal Ministry of Finance. ÖBAG pursues the goal of responsible management of the federal government's investments with a view to sustainable and long-term value creation. ÖBAG is strengthening Austria as a business location by implementing the interests of its owners with a view to the future.

Further information and photos of the event: forum.oebag.gv.at
 

Aakriti Chandihok (ÖBAG), Werner Hölzl (WIFO) und Nadja Bernhard (ORF) © Luiza Puiu