Arno Wohlfahrter, MBA, MLE

Professional athlete, international management roles, CEO of market-leading companies in Austria (publishing, energy, banking & insurance, wholesale, human resources), author.

Change is a constant that we must respond to as best we can in light of exponentially advancing technological development.

This succeeds all the better, the more clearly the "why" is described and the better the quality of the interaction between the people involved. Humanity should come first, then technology.

Sports have always been and still are an important part of my life. Movement and staying in motion – both physically and mentally – is something I consider an important pillar of my personal development. This is how I found my way to cycling, or rather: cycling found me, leading up to professional sports which taught me to repeatedly step out of my comfort zone and continuously expand my performance capabilities.

Through this career, I got to know many countries and cultures and was challenged to bring my physical performance to the table with positive interaction in multicultural teams, taking into account the respective strengths, and to make my contribution to success.

Besides sports, it was always important to me not to neglect my education. I graduated from a Higher Technical Institute (HTL) specializing in mechanical engineering. After my cycling career, post-graduate education in sales, marketing, and Executive Master's studies followed. Learning is a continuous journey.  

The transition from professional sports to business was exciting. I started as a freelance editor and photographer for a special-interest cycling magazine, of which I eventually took over the editorial management. My path then led me to retail and international M&A responsibility in an oil company, risk management in the insurance sector, to Senior Manager in a bank, followed by CEO positions in wholesale and human resources. For over 15 years, I have also been regularly active as an independent consultant.

There is a common thread that runs through it all:  The transformation of business models. In my experience, this succeeds best when one manages to inspire people with the "mental concept of the possible." For humans are the "big bang" of economic actions and thus of economic exchange.

None of this could have been planned this way, but I was always aware of one thing: If I focus the strength and consistency that professional sports require onto my activities in business and put myself in a position to seize offered opportunities, success will come sooner or later. In my opinion, this principle applies equally to companies: Focusing the energies of an organization on the essential fields of action, as shown in our Performance Triangle. And the consistent "sticking with it," on which we are happy to accompany you.

My motivation is to create an environment that optimally fosters inspiring, successful collaboration among the diverse skills and competencies within the team, and in which performance is enjoyable.