Wolfgang Leitner
Wolfgang Leitner | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 27, 1953 Graz, Austria |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Known for | Former CEO of Andritz AG |
Wolfgang Leitner (born 27 March 1953) is an Austrian billionaire and the former chief executive officer of Andritz AG, a prominent plant engineering firm based in Austria.
Early life
Born in 1953 in Graz, Austria, Leitner is the son of a metalworker employed at Andritz AG. He completed his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Graz in 1978.
Career
Leitner's professional journey began in research at Vianova, an Austrian branch of Hoechst AG. By 1981, he had transitioned to a role as a management consultant at McKinsey. In 1986, alongside his former classmate Martin Bartenstein, who later served as an Austrian government minister, he co-established the pharmaceutical firm Genericon Pharma. The company's Hungarian division, Pharmavit, gained recognition for its effervescent tablets and generic medications. In 1995, the US pharmaceutical corporation Bristol Myers Squibb acquired Genericon for USD 110 million.
Leitner joined Andritz AG in 1987 as chief financial officer and was promoted to CEO in 1994. Following the company's sale in 1999, he purchased a 26% ownership stake. In July 2021, it was announced that Joachim Schönbeck would succeed Leitner as CEO starting April 2022, at which point Leitner moved to serve on the supervisory board.
Private life
Leitner lives in Graz with his spouse and two children.
He was listed on the 2024 Forbes Billionaires List with an estimated net worth of US$2.7 billion, ranking him as Austria’s sixth wealthiest individual and placing him 1,238th worldwide.
Honours
- 2006: Named "Man of the Year" by Austrian business publication Trend
- 2015: Awarded Honorary Senator status by the Graz University of Technology
- 2022: Recipient of the Erzherzog-Johann-Award