Mr. Michael Strugl, MBA, has been CEO of VERBUND AG, Austria's leading electricity company and one of the largest producers of hydropower in Europe, since January 1, 2021. His responsibilities include Corporate Development, Strategic Human Resources Management, Corporate Office, Corporate Innovation & New Business, Ventures, and Communications. In addition, Dr. Strugl was elected President of Austria's Energy in June 2020 and President of the World Energy Council Austria in October 2020. Since January 2022, Dr. Strugl has also been Chairman of the Board of the JKU Alumni Club and, since March 2023, Vice Chairman of the University Council of Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz.
From 2013 to 2017, he was a member of the Upper Austrian state government and from 2017 to 2018, he served as Deputy Governor. Dr. Strugl was responsible for the so-called "location portfolio" within the government, encompassing the areas of economy, labor market, tourism, research and science, energy, spatial planning, the state holding company, technology and innovation, sports, elections, and the budget.
Dr. Strugl studied law as well as social and economic sciences at Johannes Kepler University. He holds an MBA in International Finance from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.