Michael Strugl

Mag. Dr Michael Strugl MBA has been CEO of VERBUND AG, Austria’s leading electricity company and one of the largest producers of hydroelectricity in Europe, since 1 January 2021. His department encompasses the areas of Corporate Development, Strategic Human Resources Management, Corporate Office, Corporate Innovation & New Business, Ventures and Communication (until June 2024: Operational business areas (Business, Customers) and until January 2024: Hydrogen). In addition, Dr Strugl was elected president of Oesterreichs Energie 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 state councillor and member of the Upper Austrian provincial government, and from 2017 to 2018 he served as deputy governor. Dr Strugl was responsible for government’s Department for Economic Affairs and Development, which included the areas of the economy, labour market, tourism, research and science, energy, regional planning, state holding company, technology and innovation, sports, elections and the budget. 

Dr Strugl studied law, social and economic sciences at the Johannes Kepler University. He holds an MBA in International Finance from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Programme at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. 

“The energy transition is not a project for the future – it is our present. At the INSPIRE energy summit, we work together to design solutions for a sustainable and resilient energy system.” 

— Michael Strugl