New position for former IMZ Secretary General Franz Patay

We are proud to announce that IMZ Secretary General Franz Patay has been appointed Managing Director of the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (VBW).

Franz Patay has taken up his position at the beginning of October 2016 and succeeds Thomas Drozda, who became a federal government minister in May. Vereinigte Bühnen Wien comprises stages of the musical theatres ‘Raimund Theater’ and ‘Ronacher’ as well as the opera house ‘Theater an der Wien’ and the ‘Kammeroper’.

Patay continues to serve as Rector of the Music and Arts Private University of the City of Vienna (MUK), until the beginning of 2017 and will also keep his position as IMZ Secretary General of the IMZ.

A seasoned cultural manager with an excellent network of contacts
and years of experience

“With the appointment of Franz Patay, we are ensuring the continued and consistent implementation of the VBW’s highly successful path. In economically challenging times, it is particularly important not only to have a proven expert in the arts at the helm of the company but one who is also a strong manager with outstanding business skills. Our aim is to guarantee the customary first class quality of VBW productions and the VBW theatres while also maintaining a high level of strategic and structural stability on the financial side. In his previous positions, Franz Patay has proved that he is the right man for the job“, said Peter Hanke, Managing Director of Wien Holding:

Statement by Renate Brauner, City Councillor for Finance, Economic and International Affairs:

“The VBW are not only an important cultural driving force in Vienna but also a major economic factor. Directly and indirectly, the company provides around 1,700 jobs in Vienna and generates value added of over €100 million for the city. I am delighted that in Franz Patay we have secured a new managing director for the VBW who will successfully develop the company in new economic and cultural directions“.

Statement Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, Vienna’s City Councillor for Cultural Affairs:

“In Franz Patay we have an experienced and versatile cultural manager to take over the management of the VBW. He not only has highly professional leadership qualities, but is an empathetic and integrative figure with an excellent reputation and years of management experience in the culture industry. His global art and culture network provides a constructive and forward-looking basis for the successful continuation of this renowned institution“.

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