Meet the new boss of PwC in Austria: Peter Perktold

PwC Austria has a new boss: Peter Perktold, who takes over the reins from Christine Catasta.

Following a 38-year career at PwC, Christine Catasta has retired. After joining the company in 1982, and the Austrian partnership in 1994, she held roles of ascending seniority, including heading the firm’s Consulting division and latterly serving as Country Managing Partner for the past two years. 

Her successor, the 54-year-old Peter Perktold, similarly is a veteran of the Big Four accounting and consulting firm. Perktold is an expert in economics and tax issues, and already was part of PwC Austria’s leadership team. He has extensive experience in providing tax advice to companies in Austria and beyond, and has been part of the tax workstreams of dozens of large deals in the DACH region. 

In his new role, assumed on July the 1st, Perktold leads a team of more than 1,200 employees across five locations: Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt, Linz and Salzburg. He has been appointed into the board of PwC Europe, and will represent PwC Austria's interests across topics such as business development and key accounts, sovereignty, international collaboration among members firms, and shared services. 

While taking over in the eye of the corona storm is not an ideal moment to start his new role, Perktold said that he is confident PwC has the fundament needed to navigate the crisis landscape.

“We have positioned ourselves well in recent years and have invested a lot. The Corona crisis naturally brings new challenges, but at the same time new opportunities to make a decisive contribution with our know-how and high quality standards. Strengthened by our talented people in Austria and our global network, we will courageously take advantage of new potential and opportunities.” 

Earlier this month, PwC Austria bolstered its digital consulting practice in Austria with the acquisition of point of origin, a Vienna-based digital advisory firm with a 16-strong team.