The Federation of Austrian Industries

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation we continued as well in March our series of online events. We were very glad that the Secretary General of the Federation of Austrian Industries Christoph Neumayer hosted the meeting on March 25, 2021 and gave an overview on the current economic situation and outlook and on the activities of the Federation.

The Federation of Austrian Industries

 The Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) is the voluntary and independent representation of interests of the Austrian industry and its related sectors.

 Since 1946 the IV has taken part in all legislative processes as a recognised partner of politics. A federal organisation, nine regional groups and the IV-office in Brussels represent the issues of its currently more than 4,400 members in the manufacturing sector, credit and insurance sector, infrastructure and industry-oriented services in Austria and Europe. The Federation’s members represent more than 80 per cent of domestic manufacturing companies.

 

   

Secretary General Christoph Neumayer

Christoph Neumayer was born in 1966. He studied History and Communication Science at Vienna University, thereafter he attended the Strategic Leadership Course of the Austrian National Defence Academy and was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Management at the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin.

In 1997 he joined the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV): Before being appointed Secretary General in 2011 he was editor in chief of the „Industry News Service“ and press officer, thereafter he became Managing Director of Young Industry/ Group 1031 (Austrian Think Tank), Manager of the IV Newsroom and Director of Marketing & Communications.

Apart from being Secretary General at IV Mr. Neumayer is member of the Board of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute, he is member of the BUSINESS EUROPE Executive Committee, Vice-President of the Association of Integrated Communication, Lecturer at the Institutes for Media Studies of the Universities of Salzburg and Vienna and a member of the Austrian Armed Forces 2010 Evaluation Board of Advisors.

 

Question and Answer Session

The excellent presentation of Mr. Neumayer was followed by a Q&A session.

Based on questions from the audience Mr. Neumayer commented the forecast of the economic development of Austria in 2021. Depending on the date of the removal of COVID-19 measures Austria will return to growth with an expected GDP growth in 2021 by 2,5% - 4,5%.

He mentioned the wide range of the government support due to CORONA for business and population in the range of more than 50 bio. EUR.

As a conclusion he stressed the main factors for a revival of Austria´s economy:

 -         Globalisation is a success story

 -         RD&I lead to solutions for the biggest challenges of our time

 -         Clear structures and competences in Austria are essential

 -         Digital is key: Digiskills are more important than ever

 -         The rule of law and predictability are indispensible

 -         A modern legal framework is a boost for Austrian key technologies

 -         Security of supply needed, especially concerning infrastructure