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“Does he or she makes us stronger?” is the ultimate requirement for working at ÖBB, as Dr. Först explains.

On December 11, 2017 the LBS Career Center organized a fireplace talk with the CEO of the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group Dr. Clemens Först and the Executive Director Mr. Alexander Zirkler. In an inspiring session, the LBS students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to gain insights into the ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) operations and strategy, as well as learn about the interesting career path of our renowned guest.

The event commenced with a general presentation of the ÖBB Group delivered by Dr. Först, and the mobility and logistics of people and cargo that are the main ÖBB business areas. ÖBB is proud to be the number one in reliability and punctuality, with their USP being safety and sustainability. The Group is one of the biggest employers in Austria with more than 40,000 employees and has three distinct business units: Passenger, Cargo (Rail Cargo Group), and Infrastructure.

In the second part of the presentation Dr. Först focused on internship and traineeship possibilities with a special focus on international careers. Our speaker encouraged the LBS students to join the ÖBB as it is very beneficial timing and a tactical move too, since the Group will have 10,000 people gradually retiring from the company which creates many open positions. As for the traineeship program, it starts every year in September and has four rotation stops that offer an overall insight of the company.

Concerning the recruitment requirements, the ÖBB offers more than 100 different positions and trainings. In general the company is searching for people “to make us richer and stronger”, as Dr. Först summarized. Regarding the skillset and talent needed in future, analytical and structural business thinking will be necessary as well as an innovative approach to collaborative and cross-functional models that will transform the top-down hierarchy, improve dynamics and reduce complexity.

Concluding the event with a Q & A session, our students were very interested in the personal career path of our guest, along with specific questions regarding the career opportunities at ÖBB. Working previously for a consultancy, Dr. Först’s initial motivation to change to ÖBB was the challenge to transform one of the “last dinosaurs of the Austrian economy” and the possibility to influence the future of rail cargo in general.

We hope that you enjoyed this inspiring talk and wish you the best of luck for your future applications. For more information about open positions at ÖBB, please visit their online career platform.

 

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