WU-Manager 2010

WU Manager of the Year Peter Löscher: “We have a responsibility to society“

“I urge all young people who are lucky enough to study at a university as internationally renowned and well-connected as WU to take advantage of the opportunities offered to go abroad. During my studies, WU gave me the chance to experience the world's cultural diversity, and that’s where it all started for me”, says Peter Löscher, WU’s newest Manager of the Year and President and CEO of Siemens AG. He continues, “This award is a great honor for me, and at the same time, a challenge: I am grateful for the education I have received, but not everyone is as privileged as I have been. It’s up to us, therefore, to make a difference and fulfill our responsibility to society”.

Peter Löscher received the WU Manager of the Year 2010 award from WU Rector Christoph Badelt at an official ceremony yesterday evening. This award is granted by WU annually to outstanding members of the business community whose exemplary qualities benefit both their companies and the community as a whole. “Peter Löscher has truly earned this distinction, as he combines excellent management skills with a strong sense of social responsibility. He is an example to many through his actions and his character”, Rector Badelt said in his introduction.

A success story

In his laudatory speech, Fritz Scheuch, Head of the WU Department of Management, praised this year’s award winner as an executive with all the necessary qualifications for international top level management: an excellent education received in universities around the world, years of experience in the top level management of internationally active companies, fluency in a number of foreign languages, cultural openness and global mobility. “Together with mental acuity and strength of character, these are the qualities needed to tackle great challenges. A multinational corporation like Siemens, with over 400,000 employees, needs and deserves a manager with Peter Löscher’s qualities. This kind of management opens up numerous possibilities to use Siemens’ products and performance to influence industrial and energy policy,encourage ecological responsibility and provide technological aid to the developing world”, said Scheuch. “Peter Löscher is without a doubt an outstanding example and role model for students who see management in international dimensions as their future, as a great chance, but also as a responsibility”.

Business Talk

During the subsequent Business Talk with Georg Waldstein, publisher of the business and economics magazine GEWINN, Peter Löscher talked about sustainability, responsibility and values: “The current crisis has shown us that investments in education and research are more important than ever, because these are the aspects that will decide our future”. Further topics included career perspectives for young people: “International experience is becoming more and more important for a successful career. Companies are looking for people with that certain extra, people with more experience”. On Siemens, Löscher said, “Siemens is facing up to issues like climate change. All of us, all together, have to make our contributions to the environment, that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day”.

Prominent guests and well-wishers

Many well-known members of the business community attended the ceremony, including Wolfgang Hesoun (Siemens AG), Markus Beyrer (Federation of Austrian Industry), and previous WU Managers of the Year Monika Kircher-Kohl (Infineon), Walter Wolfsberger (Siemens AG) and Mario Rehulka (formerly Austrian Airlines).

Contact:
Cornelia Moll PR Manager
Tel: + 43-1-31336 ext. 4977
cornelia.moll@wu.ac.at
http://blog.wu.ac.at
http://www.wu.ac.at/press