Wolfgang Leitner was born on 1953 in Graz, Austria, Austria. Wolfgang Leitner heads $6.7 billion (2015 sales) ANDRITZ, a supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industries and the steel sector among others. Leitner had early exposure to the company as the son of a machine fitter for ANDRITZ, which is headquartered in Graz, Austria. He went on to get his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Graz and began his career as a research chemist at Vianova/Hoescht in 1978. He joined McKinsey as a consultant in 1981. Two years later, he was given the task of restructuring ANDRITZ after the company suffered losses from a global oil crisis and worldwide economic stagnation. He left McKinsey in 1985 and a year later founded Genericon, a company specialized in selling generic drugs; he still personally owns that business. Two years after that, he joined ANDRITZ as its CFO. In 1994 he was appointed president and CEO, titles he still holds today. During his tenure, he led a management buyout, backed by private-equity investors including Carlyle Group and GE Capital, and later took the company public on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Leitner owns 25% plus one share of ANDRITZ.
Wolfgang Leitner is a member of Construction & Engineering
