Klemens Haselsteiner takes office as CEO of STRABAG SE

• Haselsteiner officially took over management of STRABAG SE on 1 January 2023. He succeeds Thomas Birtel, who has stepped down from the Management Board after reaching the maximum age limit.
• STRABAG SE Supervisory Board Chairman Alfred Gusenbauer: “As a proven expert for digitalisation, Klemens Haselsteiner will drive STRABAG’s transformation towards becoming the most innovative and most sustainable construction group in Europe.”
• Focus is on the “Work On Progress” mission: climate neutral by 2040, more efficient use of resources, greater sustainability in construction

Vienna, 9 January 2023---Klemens Haselsteiner is the new Chief Executive Officer of STRABAG SE. With effect from 1 January 2023, he takes over the post from Thomas Birtel, who has reached the maximum age limit after ten years in office. The Supervisory Board appointed Haselsteiner to the position in May 2022. His responsibilities will continue to include digitalisation, innovation and business development, as well as staff functions such as business compliance and work safety. Also joining the Group Management Board is Jörg Rösler, previously a member of the Management Board of the Cologne-based German subsidiary STRABAG AG, who will assume responsibility for the North + West segment. Alfred Watzl will head the South + East segment, while Siegfried Wanker will continue to be responsible for the International + Special Divisions segment. Christian Harder will retain his position as Chief Financial Officer.

“Klemens Haselsteiner is the ideal person to fill the position of Chief Executive Officer. He possesses many years of business experience, is familiar with STRABAG, and knows the company inside out. As a proven expert for digitalisation, he will systematically and with determination drive ahead the transformation of STRABAG towards becoming the most innovative and most sustainable construction group in Europe. I would like to thank Thomas Birtel for his prudent approach to keeping the company successfully on course in stormy times,” says Alfred Gusenbauer, Chairman of the STRABAG Supervisory Board.

Mission for the years ahead: Work On Progress
Haselsteiner has been with the Group and has held various management positions since 2011. As a member of the Management Board, he has spent the past two years establishing the new Digitalisation, Innovation and Business Development portfolio and played a key role in developing the new STRABAG sustainability strategy as well as the Group’s new positioning under the slogan “Work On Progress”.

“These are challenging times we are living in. The construction industry is in a process of fundamental change and transformation. That makes it all the more important to have a clear idea of where we are headed – entrepreneurially, ecologically, socially and culturally. For me, this means that we as a company cannot passively wait and see what happens but must actively shape the things to come. That’s why we aren’t carrying on as before. Instead, we are rethinking construction and collaboration, linking economic success even more strongly with social responsibility. In concrete terms: we want to achieve profitable growth, digitalise our processes, drive innovation and anchor the issue of sustainability in all areas of the company. And we want to concentrate on one thing above all: teamwork. Because only together can we work on progress. With this in mind, I am looking forward to starting out together with my experienced and capable Management Board team consisting of Christian Harder, Jörg Rösler, Siegfried Wanker and Alfred Watzl,” says Haselsteiner, explaining his goals for the coming 2023–2026 Management Board period.

With the sustainability strategy adopted in 2021, STRABAG has set itself the goal of becoming climate neutral along the entire value chain by the year 2040. The company wants to actively shape the transformation of the construction industry in order to achieve the climate targets and save resources. Three areas are of particular relevance here: “We want to strengthen the modern circular economy and use resources more efficiently, digitalise process chains and structures end to end, and significantly reduce our own emissions –both on the construction site and in the office,” says Haselsteiner.

More information on STRABAG SE’s sustainability goals can be found here.