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Interview with Dr Johannes Ortner
Dr Johannes Ortner has been the new chairman of Raiffeisen Landesbank Tirol AG since
1 April 2016. In the banking business, he would like to see things go back to their roots a bit
more, while with his relocation to Tyrol he is moving a little closer back to his own personal
roots, at least in geographic terms.
Dr Johannes Ortner says that he likes people. That quickly be-
comes clear when one starts up a conversation with him. It’s a
genuine interest in what is going on around him, rather than any-
thing insincere. And he can have a hearty laugh. That is very re-
freshing because not so many people can do that anymore – out-
side their own private sphere at any rate. Dr Ortner is authentic in
a way that, in his opinion, the bank ought to be as well. It’s about
honesty and trust.
Meanwhile, there wasn’t so much to laugh about for his singing
group, the Schwarzacher Doppelquartett, which he had to leave
behind him when he relocated from Vorarlberg to Tyrol. Because
one of their voices is missing now. From now on, though, Dr Ortner
will be using it all the more vigorously at Raiffeisen-Landesbank Ti-
rol AG. That was also what he did during his first exploratory talks,
in which he stated clearly what he would like to achieve with the
bank. ‘In my statements I was pretty provocative,’ he admits. ‘But
those thoughts were obviously well received, otherwise I wouldn’t
be sitting here today.’
That Dr Ortner is generally a pleasant person to work with is, how-
ever, shown by the fact that his colleagues presented him with a
boating certificate when he switched from the DZ Bank in Munich
to Lake Constance and Raiffeisenlandesbank Vorarlberg. He ac-
quired the boating certificate without ever having thought about it
before. This shows that he possesses a certain spontaneity. In the
‘I like being among people.’