Vienna Insurance Group, an Austria-based insurance group with operations across Central and Eastern Europe, has approved a series of changes to the leadership team of the group and its subsidiaries Wiener Städtische Versicherung and DONAU Versicherung.
The decisions were taken at the Supervisory Board meeting on April 14, and all appointments and transition plans will come into effect on July 1, 2026.
The group will expand its management board from seven to eight members. Judit Havasi and Sonja Raus were appointed to the Board of Directors, and Gerhard Lahner was appointed Second Deputy CEO. The terms of office of new and existing members of the Management Board have been extended until June 30, 2031.
Following these changes, the Management Board of Vienna Insurance Group will consist of CEO Hartwig Löger, first deputy CEO Peter Höfinger, second deputy CEO Gerhard Lahner, as well as Judit Havasi, Liane Hirner, Gábor Lehel, Christoph Rath and Sonja Raus. Harald Riener will resign from the Group’s Board of Directors at the end of June 2026.
At Wiener Städtische Versicherung, Manuel Schalk has been appointed to the Management Board, succeeding Sonja Raus, who will join the Group’s Board of Directors. The company’s Board of Directors will continue to be headed by Ralph Müller, with Sonja Brandtmayer as Deputy CEO, and includes Roland Gröll, Manuel Schalk, Gerald Weber and Doris Wendler.
Harald Riener will succeed Judit Havasi as CEO of DONAU Versicherung. Riener has been a member of the Management Board of Vienna Insurance Group since 2020 and previously held senior management positions at DONAU. From July 2026, the Danube Management Board will consist of Harald Riener as CEO, together with Edeltraud Fichtenbauer, Roland Gröll, Wolfgang Petschko and Franz Zeiler.
These appointments reflect the ongoing changes in internal succession planning and leadership structures of the Group and its subsidiaries. The individual taking on the new role has extensive experience within the organization and the wider insurance sector.
