Company Management

Heinz Kaupa (*1947) was appointed technical director of Austrian Power Grid AG (APG) in 2001 following the organisational separation from the VERBUND-holding. In 2006 he was reappointed to this position. From 1999 to 2001 he was board member of VERBUND-Austrian Hydro Power AG.

From 1986 to 1993 Kaupa was in charge of the “Errichtungs- und Betriebsgesellschaft Marchfeldkanal” as one of its board members, in 1993 he became board member of “Österreichische Donaukraftwerke AG” – a position he filled up to 1999.

In addition to his charge within Austrian Power Grid AG Kaupa is supervisory board member of APCS (Austrian Power Clearing and Settlement AG) as well as member of the EVN-environmental advisory board.

In 2012, Gerhard Christiner was appointed  (*1969) to the board of directors of Austrian Power Grid AG. Christiner joined Verbundplan GmbH in 1995 as senior consultant and project manager in the area “Energy and Grid Management”. In 2000, the graduate of electrical engineering transferred to the then-VERBUND-Austrian Power Grid AG, where he headed the “Operations and Market Management” division from 2002 until 2006. In June 2006, in his capacity as department head for “Asset Management”, he assumed responsibility for the areas of grid expansion and grid planning. 

Christiner has a profound knowledge of the Austrian energy industry and has also held a multitude of roles in the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E). In the domestic industry association “Österreichs Energie”, Christiner heads the working party “Grid Planning for Austria”.

Thomas Karall (*1961) was appointed commercial director of Austrian Power Grid AG (APG) in 2001 following the organisational separation from the Verbund holding. In 2006 he was reappointed to this position. Prior to this he had been chief operating officer of VERBUND-Austrian Power Grid GmbH since 1999.

He joined Verbund in 1989 as part of the corporate organizational unit where he was assigned with corporate reorganisation projects. In 1994 he advanced to the controlling department responsible for implementing SAP R/3 and assumed the position of department chief in 1997. From 1998 to 1999 he was Chief Operating Officer of transmission.

He currently also serves as chairman of the supervisory board of APCS AG, the company operating for the Austrian balancing market. Since 2001 he represents Austria within the association of European transmission operators (ENTSO-E), the former ETSO (European Transmission System Operators). The CASC (Capacity Allocation Service Company), founded in November 2010, appointed Karall to its supervisory board chairman.