Editorial
2024 was the very often quoted “super-election year”. It was the year of decision making. The voters had their say. We knew that the course for our future was being set. Now the battles have been fought, and the winners have been decided.
2025 will be the year of action. Our new governments will now set the course for the future. It goes without saying that governments and their programs have a major influence on the economy. Where will impulses be given, which paths will be taken? Which measures will be developed to strengthen the own economy?
Many of these decisions have not yet been made and are not yet foreseeable. This means that planning is challenging – or not, as the past few years have shown us that changes come faster and more radically than we think. Companies need to position themselves flexibly in order to be able to react and be resilient. Resilience is one of the most important characteristics for a successful company today. This is true on both sides of the Atlantic.
Last year’s study on transatlantic trade relations revealed that the USA is Austria’s second largest trading partner. The USA has overtaken Italy. The decisions made in Washington are therefore highly relevant for us. Will there be tariffs for Europe as announced by Donald Trump during his election campaign? How high will they be? Many Austrian companies that are already active in the USA have made provisions for this and already have a branch in the USA. We all need to monitor developments and act accordingly.
In any case, as AmCham we will continue to fight intensively for our trade relations, for our cohesion and for our cooperation. This will certainly be one of our absolute core tasks for the coming year.
Yours,
Michael Zettel
President AmCham Austria
Country Managing Director Accenture Österreich
Distinguished Members of the American Chamber of Commerce,
The U.S. Embassy continues to value its strong relationship with the American Chamber of Commerce in Austria. This relationship, led by the Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service, will continue to grow stronger during this exciting year ahead.
With Austrian and U.S. elections behind us, 2025 will be a year of significant change. A new U.S. Administration will officially begin at Noon Eastern Time on Monday, January 20 with the inauguration of a new president. Trump administration officials will bring their own agenda, much of which was experienced and discussed during the last administration and during the campaign leading up to the elections in November.
Austrian and European firms will potentially be affected by policy decisions of the new Administration. Therefore, it is more important than ever to ensure your voice is heard among policy makers in Washington, D.C. — that they understand the value Austrian firms bring to the U.S. According to the Department of Commerce, Austrian firms employ 38,400 American workers, conduct $317 million in research and development in the U.S. and export $1.7 billion worth of product from the U.S. These are impressive numbers.
It is important for Austrian firms to highlight to leaders on Capitol Hill, the Administration and with local and state governments the value Austria brings to the U.S. I encourage AmCham, its leadership and members, in conjunction with Austrian trade associations, to organize visits to these institutions in 2025 to ensure that Austrian business interests, which are in many cases aligned with Administration priorities, are communicated to key decision-makers. We look forward to supporting AmCham in these efforts.
Likewise, in Austria U.S. firms should continue their efforts to raise the profile of U.S. investment and its contributions to local economic development. This year’s AmCham trade relations study produced with Accenture is an excellent source of information to underscore the value of U.S. investment in Austria.
I look forward to a 2025 filled with wonderful AmCham events and meetings with the great individuals who comprise the group’s leadership and membership. Please feel free to reach out to me any time to discuss your thoughts on trade, investment and life and work in Austria.
Sincerely,
Ken Walsh
Senior Commercial Officer U.S. Embassy Vienna
Looking back and looking forward!
2024 has been a year of colossal change and development, from elections, economic troubles, technology change to a personnel change in the AmCham office.
But every change brings about new challenges and new opportunities that arise through progress, innovation and technological efficiencies. At AmCham we drive forward with the modernization of the office, our corporate identity, website and newsletter while keeping our most valued tradition of having an essential exchange with experts from business and politics from both sides of the Atlantic.
Our AmCham Talks thrive through this exchange, most memorable Hannelore Veit in October, who gave us insights into the US election, or Holger Bonin, Scientific Director at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Martin Weiss, President of Salzburg Global Seminar and former Austrian Ambassador in the US, or Marco Porak, Country General Manager and Director of Technology IBM Austria, who presented the practical side of the exciting world of quantum computing to us.
My personal highlights in 2024 also included the kick-off of the second EmpowerHer program with a new record of participants as well as the AmCham Barbecue. After having lived for 10 years in the United States the Thanksgiving reception is very dear to my heart as I embrace the spirit of thankfulness. I am thankful for the support of our members and our closed-knit community working together to bring our two countries closer together and advancing transatlantic business for our joint advantage.
As we sharpen our focus on our members and their needs, let’s get in contact – either at one of our events or send me an email at barbara.piplits@amcham.at – and tell us what topics you are most interested in in 2025.
Sincerely yours,
Barbara Piplits-Schneider
Deputy Executive Director AmCham Austria
We Thank our Yearbook Sponsors
Farewell for Ambassador Kennedy
AmCham’s New Year’s reception was marked by the farewell of Ambassador Victoria Kennedy. “We would like to thank you for three years of intensive and successful cooperation. You have incredibly strengthened and consolidated the cohesion of our two nations,” said Michael Zettel, President of AmCham and Managing Director of Accenture in Austria. Around 150 guests from the worlds of business, politics and administration attended the reception at the Hotel Sacher.
In her speech, Ambassador Kennedy emphasized that the “encounters with people” were among the special moments of her time in Austria. “It was a time of great change, but I could feel the connection between the people and their community,” Kennedy emphasized and recalled: ”President Biden gave us ambassadors one thing: we should rebuild relationships. I think we have succeeded,” she said and added, looking to the future: ”The USA is the second most important export nation for Austria. The power of business relations is enormous.”
Members
Member List
252 Austrian, American and international companies, from large corporations to SMEs and independent consultants – the list of AmCham member companies and their contacts. Scroll, click & connect.
Member Stories
Our member companies not only have very different backgrounds, they also have very different approaches, mindsets and goals. Get inspired by their thoughts.
Study
Amcham Study with Accenture 2024
“Strong relationships in turbulent times” – Together with Accenture, AmCham has examined and analyzed the status quo and developments in bilateral trade relations. The major global crises are challenging partnerships.
The US is the second most important trading partner for Austria – in 2023, more than €14.7 billion were exported to the US. This represents 7.4% of all exports of goods. Trade in services between countries is also growing strongly on both sides. The US is the third most important country of origin for service imports for Austria.
67% of all Austrian exports to the US are high-tech, of which €1.3 billion constitute environmental technologies. The US represents the third largest target market for Austria’s environmental technologies, with a still untapped export potential to the US of USD 968 million.
The importance of the US as a business location for Austrian companies is steadily increasing. Compared to 2021, sales in the US increased by 8.5% to € 6.2 billion. Austrian companies in mechanical engineering and chemistry are most strongly represented in the US.
The economic contribution of the top 50 US companies in Austria corresponds to 2.7% of GDP in the entire value-added network. In total, more than 148,000 jobs can be allocated to the activities of these companies, which is an increase of around 15,000 jobs compared to 2021. 24% of the contribution can be attributed to IT companies.
The intensive cooperation on innovations between the US and Austria is reflected in the above-average growth in co-patent applications by the countries, whereby 17% of all Austrian co-patents were created with US partners – this is a 3.5-fold increase since 2000.
EmpowerHer
Connect us
The EmpowerHer initiative is promoting the empowerment of women in the business world and illustrating the benefits of equal opportunities in business and commerce.
The two programs we launched with MentorUs and ConnectUs are focusing on personal development and value driven networking. Especially ConnectUS is the leading networking program of AmCham Austria and its member organizations. We offer employee and talent interactive events on the topics of communication, impact and growth. The focus of the initiative is to enable new connections and promote professional relationships within the companies. The nomination is open for female and male talents, as only together we drive change.
During the year 2023/2024 we offered networking events with about 60-70 participants per event. Strong company sponsors like IBM Austria, Ketchum Austria and 3M Austria emphasize the importance of the initiative also in 2024/2025.
Tanja Bächle and Sebastian Mörth, ConnectUs Leaders describe it as the next gen network in Austria to support new relationships in a changing world. The collaboration between organizations in the market is changing more and more and the focus is to give the nominated female and male talents strong voices and capabilities to lead the change for female empowerment.
There are exciting plans for the new cohort in 2024/2025. The networking events will continue to focus on growing skills and will be supplemented by planned industry roundtables. The future is now, and together we want to enable the next generation of leaders in various economic sectors in Austria to promote gender equality in Austria.
Mentor Us
MentorUS is the leading mentoring program of AmCham Austria and its member organizations. The initiative connects a senior and diverse pool of Austro-American business leaders with female employees from AmCham member companies who are in or aspire to be in leadership roles. The focus of the program is to enable growth, foster impactful relationships, and provide valuable insights for professional development.
With the 2024/2025 cohort, MentorUS reached new heights, engaging 10 top executives as mentors and over 20 mentees. A heartfelt thank you goes to our incredible mentors: Roman Biller, Monika Brodey, Christine Catasta, Dagmar Dvorakova, Lucy Georgieva, Jean-Pierre Kallanian, Christina Kichler-Lakomy, Michaela Lausegger, Christiane Noll, and Marco Porak. Your dedication and expertise have been invaluable in shaping the next generation of leaders.
Mentees describe it as a transformative initiative for building meaningful connections and promoting leadership in today’s dynamic business environment.
Together, we aim to empower the next generation of female leaders in Austria and make a lasting impact on gender equality in the business world.
Committees
Digital Policy Committee
Powered by: Lucy Georgieva (Google), Martin Hörmann (Microsoft), Maria Kuprian (Accenture), Christiane Noll (Avanade), Thomas Spieler (Amazon)
The year 2024 was an exciting and productive one for the American Chamber of Commerce in Austria (AmCham Austria), especially with the establishment of our Digital Policy Committee as one of three new committees. As a member of this newly formed Committee, I am pleased to present the progress and initiatives of the past year. Our five-member team has been fully committed to advancing digital transformation in Austria and strengthening collaboration between business, government, and society.
One of our key achievements was the creation of a comprehensive position paper on cloud computing. In close collaboration with leading companies such as Accenture, Avanade, Microsoft, AWS, and Google, we formulated specific demands that we plan to present to the new Austrian government. Our goal is to promote the use of cloud technologies in public administration and business, thereby enhancing innovation and efficiency.
Our committee places particular importance on topics such as the development of a public cloud strategy with clear goals and the definition of KPIs and responsibilities for administration, the provision of dedicated and significant budgetary funds for digitization measures, the use of innovative services (AI, machine learning, big data, quantum computing), the reduction of bureaucracy and the implementation of a „Digital First“ policy, as well as financial support for SMEs.
In 2024, we held three to four committee meetings to define our goals and develop our strategies. For 2025, we are planning a two-day meeting with an intensive exchange with AmCham Germany to learn from their experiences and best practices.
Our first step was just the beginning. We are determined to continue being a driving force in Austria’s digital transformation and look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in 2025.
Healthcare & Life Sciences Committee
Powered by: Katharina Malaschofsky (Vertex Pharmaceuticals) & Sebastian Mörth (Intuitive)
Demographic change, the importance of health as the greatest good and the ever-improving treatment options for many diseases pose major challenges for the Austrian healthcare system. The companies in the healthcare industry represented on the Committee are making considerable economic and medical contributions to meet these challenges.
The healthcare sector is one of the most dynamic growth markets in the world. In Austria, the healthcare sector is one of the most important sectors of the economy. It already generates almost 16 percent of gross value added (including interlinking effects). With their innovative products, processes and services, companies in the healthcare industry are key drivers of progress. Their commitment improves care and makes a significant contribution to national income, even in times of economic crisis.
The transatlantic economy generates almost 50 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), accounts for over 30 percent of global trade, creates over 14 million jobs and has over 40 percent of global purchasing power. In the pharmaceutical industry, 75 percent of global research is carried out in the transatlantic region.
The AmCham Healthcare & Life Sciences Committee was established to act as a central point of contact to represent the interests of AmCham Austria members in the healthcare industry – from research-based pharmaceutical manufacturers to medical technology and medical device manufacturers, diagnostics and IT companies through to the consumer health sector.
A position paper and a study on the transatlantic relationship in the healthcare industry are planned for 2025.
The newly established format “AmCham Health Talk” with high-profile guests from the healthcare sector and the format “Policy meets Sciences”, which focuses on research, medicine and innovation, will also be launched in 2025. Participation in business delegations is also planned in order to convey our topics in a targeted manner and increase our visibility.
Transatlantic Strategic Competitiveness Committee
Powered by: Martin Brodey (DORDA), Peter Perktold (PwC), Thomas Spieler (Amazon)
The AmCham Austria’s Policy Committee on „Trade and Strategic Competitiveness“ plays a crucial role in shaping policies that promote economic growth, innovation, and global competitiveness. The committee’s primary objective is to advocate for the alignment of Austria’s and the EU’s economic policies with the broader transatlantic trade and strategic interests, particularly with the United States. This involves addressing critical issues related to free trade, digital transformation, green economy, and corporate mobility, ensuring that both businesses and governments are well-equipped to navigate the challenges of a rapidly evolving global market.
The committee’s goals include:
- Reducing Protectionism: Advocating for free trade, reduced barriers, and open markets to foster innovation and investment.
- Promoting Innovation & Digital Transformation: Supporting digital innovation and Austria’s leadership in AI, quantum computing, and green technologies.
- Aligning Economic & Environmental Goals: Promoting economic growth alongside sustainability, focusing on renewable energy and green technologies.
- Facilitating Corporate Mobility: Easing travel and migration for skilled workers through simplified visa processes and mobility programs.
- Streamlining Investment Frameworks: Simplifying investment processes and encouraging cross-border investments to attract both foreign and domestic capital.
Policy recommendations include reducing trade barriers, supporting SME participation in trade, promoting digital trade agreements, enhancing investment opportunities, and encouraging the green transition. The committee invites AmCham members to contribute to these objectives to strengthen Austria’s and the EU’s global competitiveness.
The committee invites interested AmCham members to actively participate in its work, contributing their insights and expertise to furthering its objectives. If you are interested in joining the committee or have any questions, please reach out to Thomas Spieler, who is chairing the committee. Together, members can drive forward the critical policies and activities that will shape Austria’s and the EU’s future competitiveness in the global marketplace.
Events
AmCham
Talks
AmCham Talks is a Business Breakfast with insights from business leaders on relevant topics.
Business
Lunch
Having lunch while personally meeting high-ranking guests of AmCham.
Networking
AmCham connects networking with American traditions and provides an excellent opportunity for all AmCham members to get acquainted and to exchange ideas on an informal basis.
Cooperations
AmCham fosters professional development and business relation building through cooperations with various institutions such as the US Embassy, and the WKO (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich).
Event Gallery
AmCham is a vibrant community. To strengthen this, there are a number of different series of events that provide knowledge and insights, support exchange, establish contacts to do business together, promote trade relations and facilitate networking and communication. Here is an overview of the events in 2024.
