Organisational Structure

The creation of new ideas and solutions goes hand in hand with the reconsideration of structures and processes. In accordance with the aim to further develop the Forum and its programme, secretary general Feri Thierry started the year with restructuring the internal organisation of the European Forum Alpbach. Consequently, as of January 2022 the EFA acts in five different units, each responsible for one of the following topics: experience, content, communities, operations and communications.

	Clara Rindler-Schantl acts as the head of Unit Experience. Together with her team she ensures that participants experience a truly unique Alpbach journey — from the first point of contact to the implementation of innovative formats during the Forum. Production management, hospitality and ticketing are the unit’s centre pieces. Rindler-Schantl has been working with the EFA in different positions for three years; most recently she was responsible for the production management.
	The Unit Content was created to further strengthen the content-related competencies of the organisational team and to ensure challenging engagements on sight. As of 14 February, Leopold Schmertzing holds the lead of the unit and oversees the identification of innovative topics, high-level speakers and compelling fields of discourse. Previously, Schmertzing worked as Policy Analyst at the European Parliament. In addition, he is doing his Ph.D. in Public Policy at the University of Vienna and regularly publishes his research in newspapers and scientific journals.
	Annamária Tóth has been working with the European Forum Alpbach for many years. In the past, she was not only responsible for the political talks but also took care of the EFA foundation’s relationship management. Now, as head of Unit Communities, together with her team Annamária takes care of the scholarship programme and the various Alpbach networks. Unit Communities also manages sponsoring and fundraising activities.
	Christiane Schwaiger is another long-standing European Forum Alpbach team member. Her extensive experience ideally provides for all activities within Unit Operations. Centre pieces of her team’s responsibilities are human resources, finance, IT, and organisational developments of the European Forum Alpbach.
	Ankica Nikolić has been responsible for matters of communication at the European Forum Alpbach since 2021. As former journalist and current head of Unit Communications she enhances the Forum’s visibility not only through press and media relations but also brand management, social media and other (digital) communication channels.