ALSO Group finds new CEO in Austria and CEE leader

Wolfgang Krainz set to take up CEO mantle from Gustavo Möller-Hergt from 1 May

Of the eight-member management team presented by Also CEO Gustavo Möller-Hergt (pictured) a few weeks ago, Wolfgang Krainz has won the race to succeed the CEO at distributor ALSO.

The 53-year-old is currently regional chief customer officer for Austria and Central and Eastern Europe, and will take up the CEO mantle from 1 May.

He first joined ALSO Austria as managing director in 2016. For a short time, he also became managing director of Financial Services Austria, which was founded in 2019.

Krainz has some career parallels to his predecessor. Like Gustavo Möller-Hergt, Krainz also entered distribution as a stranger to the industry when he moved to Also in 2016.

In contrast to his predecessor, however, who initially moved from the Warsteiner brewery to Also Germany, Krainz brought with him experience in software development.

In 2001, he became a member of the board of directors of Lemon42 IT, Web und Software GmbH in Vienna. The IT company specialises in programming software for customers from the industry, banking, telecommunications, trade and public sectors, and today employs 25 people, according to its own information.

In 2006, Krainz resigned from the position of managing director of the company, which had in the meantime been converted into a limited liability company.

From 2013 to 2015, Krainz was registered as managing director of a Viennese investment company, which was liquidated in 2016.

He then worked for about a year as managing director of an engineering firm for overall structural planning, where he left in 2015, and two years later the company was also liquidated.

Krainz has been with ALSO for eight years now, so he will have gained enough experience in distribution.

In addition, his predecessor will continue to determine the strategic direction at ALSO.

This is because the Swiss Stock Corporation Act states that the board of directors can play an active role in the management of a stock corporation. Gustavo Möller-Hergt, as chairman, has already made it clear that he will be actively involved.

Commenting on his appointment, Krainz said: "In recent years, ALSO has built up a successful ecosystem. We will continue to expand this in the future. In order to further accelerate our sustainable profitable growth, the organization will be more focused on sales aspects. We will announce more details shortly."